The tattoo was developed with inkjet electronics, which involves the use of special conducting inks to create electronic circuits in the same way that a desktop printer produces pictures. One application for such tattoos is to measure brainwaves in cases of suspected epilepsy when cabled sensors are too distressing for a patient. If the sensors can be made small enough they could offer more exact measurements to be taken by medics enabling them to better target problem areas in the brain. Other applications could enable patients to be monitored at home if they wish, or the sensors could be used by fire or police officers to show they are well in extreme conditions.
The project, which is a collaboration between EDA, Great Ormond Street Hospital and the University of Manchester, is led by Dr John Batchelor, Reader in Antenna Technology at Kent, and will combine expertise from EDA’s wireless communication engineering with printed electronics expertise from Manchester.
Wireless tattoo is Highly Commended at the IET Innovation Awards Ceremony
A temporary transfer tattoo capable of sending wireless signals to an external receiver received Highly Commended Awards in the categories of Healthcare Technologies and Electronics at the IET Innovation Awards Ceremony held in London on 9th November 2011.