Publication

The healthcare system is undergoing a noticeable transformation from a reactive, post-disease
treatment to a preventive, predictive continuous healthcare. The key enabler for such a system is
a pervasive wearable platform. Several technologies have been suggested and implemented as a
wearable platform, but these technologies either lack reliability, manufacturing practicability or
pervasiveness. We propose a screen-printed circuit board on bio-degradable hydrocolloid dressings,
which are medically used and approved, as a platform for wearable biomedical sensors to overcome the
aforementioned problems. We experimentally characterize and prepare the surface of the hydrocolloid
and demonstrate high-quality screen-printed passive elements and interconnects on its surface using
conductive silver paste. We also propose appropriate models of the thick-film screen-printed passives,
validated through measurements and FEM simulations. We further elucidate on the usage of the
hydrocolloid dressing by prototyping a Wireless Power Transfer (WPT ) sensor and a humidity sensor
using printed spiral inductors and interdigital capacitors, respectively.

Researcher / Author: Haneen Alsuradi and Jerald Yoo

Scientific Reports (2019), 9:17467; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-53033-4