Plant-based thermotherapy patch

Date:
October 15, 2020
Source:
University of Tampere
Summary:
Researchers have developed a biodegradable, transparent, flexible
and fast-acting thermotherapy patch from plant leaves. The patch
is compatible with flexible electronic applications. Plant material
was used to reduce the amount of electronic waste.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of researchers at Tampere University, Finland, has developed a biodegradable, transparent, flexible and fast-acting thermotherapy patch
from plant leaves. The patch is compatible with flexible electronic applications.

Plant material was used to reduce the amount of electronic waste.


==========================================================================
The researchers used leaves from a Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa). The
veins of the leaves have a fractal pattern that makes the surface
highly flexible and shearable. Silver nanowires were attached to the
leaf skeleton, and the surface was encapsulated in a biodegradable
transparent tape.

The fractal-based design can also be used in flexible electronic
applications, as it overcomes the limitations of conventional planar
designs by maximizing the surface area at the microscale, or more
speci?cally, maximizing the surface area to volume ratio via simple
scaling. The large surface area enables effective heat transfer, allowing
a rapid response time and preventing overheating. Due to the flexibile structure and uniform heating of the patch, it can also be attached to
moving joints.

In orthopedics, medical thermotherapy pads are commonly used to reduce
pain, improve blood circulation and decrease in?ammation. They are also
used in the treatment of arthritis, stiff joints, cervical spondylosis
and physical injuries.

Traditional thermotherapy pads are known to have caused burns, one reason
being that some people have skin not very sensitive to heat. Part of
the problem is that commercial heating pads are opaque, and users cannot
see how their skin is reacting to the therapy.

As the thermotherapy patch is made entirely of plant-based materials,
it can help reduce carbon footprints and electronic waste. All the
materials used in the fabrication process are eco-friendly, economical,
easily accessible and easy to fabricate.

"Electronc waste is a growing environmental problem worldwide. The
use of biotic architectures and materials can help in the design of next-generation flexible electronic devices while also addressing e-waste problems," says Vipul Sharma, postdoctoral researcher appointed by the
Academy of Finland.

Sharma works in the Bioinspired Materials and Robotics group, which is
part of the BioMediTech institute of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology at Tampere University. The group is headed by Academy Research Fellow Veikko Sariola.

Electronics, especially flexible electronics, are increasingly integrated
into medical devices, textiles, wellness trackers and other portable
devices, among other things.

The concept can also be applied in various applications such as defogging/ defrosting, wearable devices, industrial heat systems, sensors,
thermochromic displays and micro?uidic chips.


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


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Vipul Sharma, Anastasia Koivikko, Kyriacos Yiannacou, Kimmo
Lahtonen,
Veikko Sariola. Flexible biodegradable transparent heaters based
on fractal-like leaf skeletons. npj Flexible Electronics, 2020;
4 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41528-020-00091-8 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201015101836.htm

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