EES packs circuits into temporary tattoos, makes medical diagnostics fashionable

Flexible circuit pioneer John Rogers and his team are at it again. This time he’s developing a wearable, ultra-thin circuit that attaches on your skin identical to a brief tattoo. The Epidermal Electronic System (EES) contains circuits that can contain electrodes able to measuring brain, heart and muscle activity within the same way an EEG does now, transmitting this information wirelessly on your doctor. Because it’s flexible and bonds to the outside, it could be worn for extended periods, unlike traditional diagnostic pads utilized in hospitals today. Within the lab, the devices were solar-powered with embedded photovoltaic cells — heavier duty circuits will require inductive charging to be practical. Rogers’ team also looked into the tech acting as a game controller (they wired it as much as someone’s throat and played Sokoban with voice commands, still managing to yield a 90 percent accuracy rate), but it’s a way off from replacing your SIXAXIS . One of the vital problems encountered concerned RF communication — perhaps they need to get at the horn to their friends in Oregon and build those fashionable diagnostic pants we’re eagerly anticipating.