Samsung is known for its unique displays, such as its curved screen TVs, but now the company is going a step further by venturing into OLED estensibili. The screen prototype can be stretched in any direction and applied directly to the skin, just like a patch.
The researchers who created the OLED model, which has been described as a “healthy, skin-like patch,” said it can be stretched by up to 30% while still displaying information and operating normally.
It is designed to stick to the skin and is not seen as a bulky medical device.
As proof of this, Samsung engineers added the monitor to an extendable heart rate monitor and attached it to the skin like a bandage. Although it is only a prototype, it actually looks promising.
“The strength of this technology is that it allows you to measure a patient’s biometric data over a longer period, without necessarily having to remove it at night or during training, as it appears to be embedded in the skin,” Samsung’s Youngjun Yun said in a press release. It is also possible, in fact, to check your vital data directly on the screen without having to transfer it to an external device.
Initial tests showed that the device continued to operate normally even after being stretched 1,000 times. The heart rate monitoring patch design allows the sensor to seamlessly attach to the patient’s skin and detect a signal that is 2.4 times stronger than current sensors.
The screen itself is made of elastomer, a flexible material that allows stretching movements like stretching. Specially treated to withstand the heat of embedded electronics and features a unique mesh-like “island” structure. Each island contains one OLED pixel and both elastomers are connected to flexible electrodes. “Gaps and electrodes between pixels expand and contract without deforming the pixels,” Yun said.
The technology is still in its early stage of development, but as you can easily imagine, hFor a very wide range of possibilities for both the health and fitness industries. It could be adapted and used with fitness wearables and possibly even smartphones or other devices in the future. Yoon also suggests that “the technology could also be expanded for use in wearable healthcare products for adults, children, and infants, as well as for patients with certain medical conditions.”
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