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| Palmreading could take on a whole new meaning thanks to a new invention from Japan: an ultra-thin display and monitor that can be stuck directly to the body (AFP Photo/TORU YAMANAKA) |
Tokyo (AFP) - Palmreading could take on a whole new meaning thanks to a new invention from Japan: an ultra-thin display and monitor that can be stuck directly to the body.
The
band-aid-like device is just one millimetre thick and can monitor important
health data as well as send and receive messages, including emojis.
Takao
Someya, the University of Tokyo professor who developed the device, envisions
it as a boon for medical professionals with bed-ridden or far-flung patients,
as well as family living far from their relatives.
"With
this, even in home-care settings, you can achieve seamless sharing of medical
data with your home doctors, who then would be able to communicate back to
their patients," he told AFP.
Slapped
onto the palm or back of a hand, it could flash reminders to patients to take
their medicine, or even allow far-away grandchildren to communicate with their
grandparents.
"Place
displays on your skin, and you would feel as if it is part of your body. When
you have messages sent to your hand, you would feel emotional closeness to the
sender," Someya said.
"I
think a grandfather who receives a message saying 'I love you' from his
grandchild, they would feel the warmth, too."
 |
A man holds
an ultra-thin elastic display equipped with a light emitting diode, newly
developed
by Professor Takao Someya of Tokyo University (AFP Photo/
TORU YAMANAKA) |
The
invention could prove particularly useful in Japan, with its rapidly ageing
population, replacing the need for in-person checks by offering continuous,
non-invasive monitoring of the sick and frail, Someya told AFP.
The display
consists of a 16-by-24 array of micro LEDs and stretchable wiring mounted on a
rubber sheet.
It also
incorporates a lightweight sensor composed of a breathable "nanomesh"
electrode, and a wireless communication module.
"Because
this device can stretch, we now can paste a display on things with complex
shapes, like skin," Someya said.
It can be
placed on the human body for a week without causing skin inflammation, and is
light enough that users might eventually even forget they are wearing it.
Along with
medical applications, Someya hopes the device could eventually lead to wearable
displays for joggers to monitor heart rates or check running routes.
He imagines
labourers using the displays to consult manuals on their arms while working.
The device
will be showcased at the annual meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science in Texas over the weekend.
Someya
created the device in partnership with Japanese printing giant Dai Nippon
Printing, which hopes to put it on the market within three years.
"Electronic skin" -- an ultra-thin display and monitor that can be stuck directly to the body -- could revolutionise healthcare, its Japanese creator says https://t.co/llJK698yRw pic.twitter.com/oLA3HtltMg— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 18, 2018
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