E-skin 'can monitor body's oxygen level'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36055501

E-skin 'can monitor body's oxygen level'

6 hours ago

From the section Health


Scientists say they have developed ultra-thin electronic "skin" that can measure oxygen levels when stuck to the body. The goal is to develop such "skin" to monitor oxygen levels in organs during surgery, say researchers in Japan. Tests on volunteers found the "skin" provided stable measurements of oxygen concentration in blood.

The device contains micro-electronic components that light up in red, blue and green on the surface of the body. Scientists at the University of Tokyo are working on ways to display numbers and letters on the skin for health monitoring purposes.

Wearable electronics are a future growth area in research, with interest in medical applications such as contact lenses that monitor glucose levels, or smart glasses.

The latest findings are revealed in Science Advances. "The device unobtrusively measures the oxygen concentration of blood when laminated on a finger," said lead researcher Tomoyuki Yokota and colleagues.
(snip)

[MrMickeysMom]

1. An advance of pulse oximetry?

This is exciting and a good example of how technology spin-offs from the original science.

When we see patients in our pulmonary clinic who are dependent on some kind of supplemental oxygen (due to their lung disease), they look for portable ways to measure themselves while at home and trying to get through daily activities. The not so old "pulse oximetry" uses an a clip on probe that looks for the capillaries right through the nail bed. Over time, these things could be purchased at places like Walgreens and other drug stores for reasonable costs.

Thanks!