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By Dario Borghino, August 18, 2012
A newly-developed electronic finger cuff could lead to smarter
surgical gloves that make performing surgery and scans as easy as
pointing your finger (Image: John Rogers/University of Illinois)
Image Gallery (4 images)
Image Gallery (4 images)
Using industry-standard manufacturing technology, researchers have
integrated ultrathin and stretchable silicon-based electronics, sensors
and actuators on an artificial skin that can be worn on the tip of your
fingers. The result is an artificial finger cuff that could be used to
produce the ultimate hi-tech surgeon's glove, capable of sensing the
electrical properties of tissue, removing tissue precisely using local
ablation, or even performing ultrasound imaging with a simple touch.
The device developed by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and Dalian University of Technology improves on previous designs in two key areas. Firstly, it isn't a bulky gizmo, but rather fits in its entirety on both sides of a flexible, elastic finger cuff. Secondly, these "artificial fingertips" can not only relay information (temperature, conductivity, and so on) to the skin, but could also – thanks to actuators positioned on the outside of the cuff – perform surgery by heat-induced local ablation, or even obtain ultrasound imagery of the tissue "at hand."
Building the cuff is a relatively straightforward process: a flexible
polymer is repeatedly poured onto a model finger until it achieves the
desired thickness. The result is an elastic sheet in the shape of a
fingertip that is then heated at 70° C (158° F) for two hours to form a
free-standing structure. The required circuitry is then delivered onto
the surface of the artificial skin via transfer printing.
A prototype "electronic skin" was designed with the simple goal of measuring the stresses and strains at the fingertip by reporting the change in capacitance of tiny microelectrodes embedded in the device. But one of the strengths of this design is that it can be easily adapted to suit different functions. For instance, it could be easily fitted with additional sensors for measuring motion and temperature, among other things.
Future applications might include robots that can interact with their surroundings with a much softer touch, even performing surgery. For now, however, the researchers are interested in seeing whether the artificial skin they have developed could be wrapped around other parts of the body. For instance, a skin wrapping the entire surface of the heart with custom sensors and actuators would provide advanced tools to diagnose and treat cardiac arrhythmia. The first step towards this goal, however, is to find a way to provide the skin with wireless power and data transfer capabilities.
The research was detailed in a paper recently published in the journal Nanotechnology.
Source: Institute of Physics
The device developed by researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and Dalian University of Technology improves on previous designs in two key areas. Firstly, it isn't a bulky gizmo, but rather fits in its entirety on both sides of a flexible, elastic finger cuff. Secondly, these "artificial fingertips" can not only relay information (temperature, conductivity, and so on) to the skin, but could also – thanks to actuators positioned on the outside of the cuff – perform surgery by heat-induced local ablation, or even obtain ultrasound imagery of the tissue "at hand."
A prototype "electronic skin" was designed with the simple goal of measuring the stresses and strains at the fingertip by reporting the change in capacitance of tiny microelectrodes embedded in the device. But one of the strengths of this design is that it can be easily adapted to suit different functions. For instance, it could be easily fitted with additional sensors for measuring motion and temperature, among other things.
Future applications might include robots that can interact with their surroundings with a much softer touch, even performing surgery. For now, however, the researchers are interested in seeing whether the artificial skin they have developed could be wrapped around other parts of the body. For instance, a skin wrapping the entire surface of the heart with custom sensors and actuators would provide advanced tools to diagnose and treat cardiac arrhythmia. The first step towards this goal, however, is to find a way to provide the skin with wireless power and data transfer capabilities.
The research was detailed in a paper recently published in the journal Nanotechnology.
Source: Institute of Physics
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