Stick-on patch proposed for patient monitoring

To monitoring a patient’s vital signs like temperature and heart rate could be a simple as sticking on a tiny, wireless patch, sort of like a temporary tattoo.Eliminating the bulky wiring and electrodes used in current monitors would make the devices more comfortable for patients, said an international team of researchers.The researchers embedded electronic sensors in a film thinner than the diameter of a human hair, which was placed on a polyester backing like those used for the temporary tattoos popular with kids. The result was a sensor that was flexible enough to move with the skin and would adhere without adhesives.Rogers said in an briefing that, while normal shedding of skin cells would eventually cause the monitors to come off, he thought they could remain in place as long as two weeks.