Tech Tuesday: Wearable electronic circuits that conform to the body

Tech Tuesday is an on-going series profiling the Forum’s Technology Pioneers. The Tech Pioneers are companies that have been recognized by the Forum for ground-breaking and innovative approaches in tackling some of the world’s most wicked problems. Each week we will be showcasing one of the 2013 Tech Pioneers. You can learn more about the Technology Pioneer Programme on the Forum’s website.

 

mc10: Wearable electronic circuits that conform to the body

Miniaturization has led to smaller and smaller devices, but as mc10’s Chief Executive Officer David Icke, points out, the end result is often just a smaller version of the rigid bricks we’ve always used. The reason is that the integrated circuits at the heart of all electronics continue to be encased in hard silicon wafers. The wafer’s thickness is intended to keep the circuit inside from breaking. mc10 is reversing the process by stripping off an ultra-thin layer of silicon containing the integrated circle and then connecting it to a mesh of nano ribbons that can stretch or bend like spandex. As a result, a tiny biopatch, only 5 microns thick, can adhere to the skin like an ultra-thin Band-Aid that looks more like a discrete tattoo than an electronic monitoring device. The uses for this technology based on research by Illinois University’s John Rogers and Harvard’s George Whiteside, are practically infinite. A barely noticeable skin patch can continuously monitor the blood sugar level of a type II diabetes patient or the temperature of a newborn baby. Flexible sensors can be attached to smart stents or used inside the body to continuously monitor the status of vital organs. A flexible net installed inside the skull can alert sufferers of epilepsy in advance of an impending attack. In a similar vein, athletes can use the patches to keep a constant check on their body’s reaction to different performance levels. mc10 is able to weave the circuits into any kind of flexible support. “We are material agnostic” says Icke. The idea is to make the electronic circuit conform to the shape of the human body rather than forcing the body to adapt to a rigid structure.

David Icke, Chief Executive Officer
Location: MA, USA
Number of Employees: 26
Year Founded: 2008

mc10 Inc.
36 Cameron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02140
USA

+1 617 234 4448
info@mc10inc.com
www.mc10inc.com