The new tattoo: Drawing electronics on skin
Using pencils to draw bioelectronics on human skin

Date:
July 13, 2020
Source:
University of Missouri-Columbia
Summary:
One day, people could monitor their own health conditions by
simply picking up a pencil and drawing a bioelectronic device on
their skin. In a new study, engineers demonstrated that the simple
combination of pencils and paper could be used to create devices
that might be used to monitor personal health.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
One day, people could monitor their own health conditions by simply
picking up a pencil and drawing a bioelectronic device on their skin. In a
new study, University of Missouri engineers demonstrated that the simple combination of pencils and paper could be used to create devices that
might be used to monitor personal health.


========================================================================== Their findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.

Zheng Yan, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, said
many existing commercial on-skin biomedical devices often contain two
major components -- a biomedical tracking component and a surrounding
flexible material, such as plastic, to provide a supportive structure
for the component to maintain an on-skin connection with a person's body.

"The conventional approach for developing an on-skin biomedical electronic device is usually complex and often expensive to produce," he said. "In contrast, our approach is low-cost and very simple. We can make a similar device using widely available pencils and paper." Since its invention,
pencils -- made of lead including various levels of graphite, clay and
wax -- have often been used for writing and drawing. In the study, the researchers discovered that pencils containing more than 90% graphite
are able to conduct a high amount of energy created from the friction
between paper and pencil caused by drawing or writing. Specifically, the researchers found pencils with 93% graphite were the best for creating
a variety of on-skin bioelectronic devices drawn on commercial office
copy paper.

Yan said a biocompatible spray-on adhesive could also be applied to the
paper to help it stick better to a person's skin.

The researchers said their discovery could have broad future applications
in home-based, personalized health care, education and remote scientific research such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yan said the group's
next step would be to further develop and test the use of the biomedical components, including electrophysiological, temperature and biochemical sensors.

"For example, if a person has a sleep issue, we could draw a biomedical
device that could help monitor that person's sleep levels," he said. "Or
in the classroom, a teacher could engage students by incorporating the
creation of a wearable device using pencils and paper into a lesson
plan. Furthermore, this low-cost, easily customizable approach could
allow scientists to conduct research at home, such as during a pandemic."
An additional benefit to their approach, Yan said, is that paper can
decompose in about a week, compared to many commercial devices that
contain components that are not easily broken down.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Missouri-Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yadong Xu, Ganggang Zhao, Liang Zhu, View Orcid Profileqihui
Fei, Zhe
Zhang, Zanyu Chen, Fufei An, Yangyang Chen, Yun Ling, Peijun
Guo, Shinghua Ding, Guoliang Huang, Pai-Yen Chen, Qing Cao, and
Zheng Yan.

Pencil-paper on-skin electronics. PNAS, 2020 DOI:
10.1073/pnas.2008422117 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200713165604.htm

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