Capable of measuring electrical activity when affixed to rats' hearts
Eww, what's that on this guy's hand? It's a sticky sheet designed to
attach electronic sensors onto organs in the body. See how the sheet
holds up a 100-yen coin?
A team of researchers based at several Japanese universities made
prototype sticky sensors that they've now tested on the still-beating
hearts of living rats. The sensors measured strain and electrical
activity, both of which are created when a heart beats. In a test, the
sensors maintained good contact with the rats' hearts for three hours.
It's not clear to what extent surgeons actually need to stick sensors
on hearts or other organs while they're operating, but perhaps this
research could lead to other types of on-the-body sensors that are able
to stick, even in wet and slippery conditions. It certainly is a cool
bit of work in making a flexible electronic device. The engineering team
demonstrated the prototypes' durability and adhesiveness in a few fun
ways, by sticking a strain sensor on someone's knuckle and by adhering
an array of sensors on an inflated balloon, then deflating it. Even
after such tests, all systems were a go.
The team published their work in the journal Nature Communications.
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