Researchers and scientists at the University of Tokyo have recently developed a thin and flexible electric skin, a.k.a. e-skin, which can be placed on the back of your hand to monitor various health signals. The e-skin is fitted with a multicolor digital display and has the potential to replace technologies such smartphones.

An invention such as this has the potential to revolutionize the definition of wearable tech by being a kind of “second skin.”

Ultraflexible Organic Photonic skin

According to Takao Someya, the head of the research group behind the creation of the e-skin at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering, e-skin could become an essential part of our lives. Joggers, runners, and health conscious people in general could use this technology.

The photonic skin can monitor heartbeat and respiratory rates, blood oxygen levels, blood sugar levels, and other important vital signs.

Instead of setting up and connecting patients to numerous complex medical equipment, doctors and medical staff can apply this thin e-skin on patients to keep an eye on their vital signs remotely.

The e-skin is extremely thin, only 3 microns in thickness! In comparison, the average thickness of the human skin is 1 mm. This makes the e-skin almost imperceptible by our senses and can be worn with no encumbrance whatsoever. This means that anybody can wear it and can check their health metrics at any time. Simply by looking at the back of their hand.

Other variants of e-skin have been designed in the past, but they failed in certain aspects. Flexible electronic devices face some problems when exposed to open air or damp conditions for a prolonged period of time. Organic electronic displays of the past were made of glass or plastic. As a result, their flexibility was limited by the thickness of the substrate.

The research group found an ingenious solution to this problem – placing a protective film over the substrate. This passivation film is composed of alternating layers of silicon oxynitride and parylene. This prevents air and moisture from chemically reacting with the device. Consequently, this should help increase life expectancy.

E-Skin – The Future of Communication and Healthcare Technology?

The thin and flexible e-skin is fitted with red and green polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). It also has a photodetector that is able to measure the blood oxygen level when wrapped around an individual’s finger. Another e-skin is attached on the back of the hand to display the data on PLEDs.

Takao Someya first talked about the revolutionary wearable device in a paper that was published in the journal of Science Advances on April 15, 2016. “We think that functionalizing skin may one day replace the smartphone in the future,” Someya said. “A smartphone is a big and clunky device. A thin and flexible ‘second skin’ is an all-in-one solution, receiving health information anywhere at any time.”

The research group in Japan utilized semiconductor fabrication processes similar to those used in producing organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays used in smartphones and TVs these days. This means that these devices can be mass-produced easily without having to face any barriers in the manufacturing scheme.

It seems that wearable technology and wearable devices are the future. A world where everyone wears e-skin to keep tabs on their health. This is what Someya envisions, a world where technology is practically integrated onto your bodies.

As of now, the device has a lifetime of only a few hours, even with the passivation layer, but strides are being made to make them even more durable. In a world where more and more people are being health conscious, this wearable electronic skin will prove to be very useful.