An ultra-thin "e-skin" that can connect to sensors and display a person's blood oxygen level or heart rate on their skin has been developed. Possible applications for the new invention made by Japanese researchers include health monitoring and fitness training. The displays stick to hands or arms and link to wearable sensors to show different measurements.
This new wearable tech is featured in the April 15, Friday edition of the journal Science Advances. It is thinner and more flexible than today's plastics and glass used for wearable devices, and is safe from air and water so it can last for several hours or days.
Researchers explain that one key function of the electronic skin is to monitor organs' oxygen levels during surgery, according to BBC. Tests with the study's participants revealed the e-skin showed steady readings of oxygen in blood. Lead researcher Tomoyuki Yokota explains that the device is attached to a finger and can then measure blood oxygen levels.
The new device includes tiny electronic parts that light up in red, green, and blue when on the body's surface. Researchers are figuring out how to show numbers and letters on the skin for health monitoring.
Professor Takao Someya is from the University of Tokyo and is a researcher developing the e-skin. He stated in a press release that the thin displays could also be used to show emotions or stress levels, according to CNET. They would provide benefits including ending the need to carry devices and improving how people communicate.
For example, people could wear status updates or emojis on their skin. The new tech could one day turn human bodies into social media walking billboards.
This is not the first e-skin that has been developed. However, they were designed for electronics or prosthetics instead of as a wearable display.
Wearable tech could result in other future medical applications including smart glasses and contact lenses that measure blood sugar.
In related news, researchers at the University of California at Berkley have developed a new device that analyzes human sweat to track changes in the wearer's body. It analyzes four chemicals in perspiration.
The United States researchers say the new tech could be used to track health trends in entire communities such as medical drug use.