Henkel has partnered with medical technology companies to develop COVID-19 smart adhesive patch using printed electronics technology that allows continuous, remote and wireless monitoring of the respiration, heart rate and soon also temperature of patients. The product will soon be tested for the use of monitoring coronavirus patients in a Belgian hospital.
COVID-19 Smart Adhesive Patch Using Printed Electronics Technology
The new smart health adhesive patch is the result of a collaboration between the Belgian companies Byteflies, Melexis, Quad Industries, Televic and Z-Plus and the Belgian departments of multinationals Henkel and Nitto. All partners provided expertise and technology components for the 15 cm long adhesive patch, which can easily apply to the left side of the chest.
The product is developed especially for skin-friendly, medical use and contains high-tech electrodes and conductive inks to register vital signs. A ‘sensor dot’ located in the center of the patch collects the patient’s vital signs and sends all the data to the cloud wirelessly. A mini temperature sensor will also be integrated soon. The healthcare center’s nurses and the patient’s general practitioner or specialist can then access this cloud data on a user-friendly platform. The innovative adhesive patch can improve the patient follow-up at home and reduces time and effort for medical stuff in data management.
Safeguarding Healthcare Professionals from Possible Infection
“The innovative smart adhesive patch demonstrates the huge potentials of printed electronics applications and the power of collaborative approaches in the market”, said Stijn Gillissen, global head of printed electronics at Henkel. “At the moment most COVID-19 patients’ vital signs are recorded manually. The staff in hospitals and care homes need to take these vital signs several times a day and then process the data manually. Our system has the potential to save them a lot of time and reduce the amount of times they are exposed to possible infection,” added Gillissen.
The system offers advantages to patients in home quarantine or in care homes as it enables to take and send measurements automatically. Patients can be certain that the measurements are correct and they are being monitored constantly. People can take the appropriate action quickly and they can contact a care provider at a healthcare center immediately if necessary. The smart health adhesive patch offers reassurance, particularly to elderly people in retirement homes and their families. The system reassures general practitioners and home nurses with regard to their patients and ease some of the monitoring burden.
“The latest global developments have exerted pressure onto the global healthcare systems”, said Gillissen. “The need for smart technical solutions based on printed electronics such as the new health is increasing as innovative technologies can support medical professionals to remotely monitor patients – allowing for better patient treatments, shorter hospital stays and most importantly more patient convenience.”
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