MIT develops an anti sweat "electronic skin" for wearable monitors to monitor skin cancer

2024-03-12

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have developed an anti sweat "electronic skin", which is a comfortable adhesive patch embedded with sensors that can be used for long-term and continuous monitoring of the wearer's vital signs and the development of diseases such as skin cancer. Even if sweating occurs, the sensor will not malfunction or come off.

This technology makes artificial sweat tubes like pores on human skin by etching the material in an ultra-thin layer and penetrating the patch with a pattern similar to Paper Cuttings. This design ensures that sweat can escape through the patch, preventing skin irritation and damage to embedded sensors, while also helping the patch fit the human skin during stretching and bending. The combination of flexibility and the anti sweat ability of materials enables them to monitor human health for a long time, which was not achieved in previous "electronic skin" designs.

Apply the "electronic skin" to the volunteer's wrist and forehead for testing. Volunteers who wear it continuously for more than a week can still reliably measure their body temperature, moisture content, ultraviolet radiation, and pulse. Even when running on a treadmill for 30 minutes and sweating from spicy food, they can still work normally.

The relevant research is published in the journal Scientific Progress.

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