Project 1A  TECHNOLOGICAL Article - SPA-ENG

Antes de llegar a la piel electrónica, un dato que quizá conoces: la piel (natural) es el órgano más grande de nuestro cuerpo, y también el más complejo. Mírala en un microscopio y encontras m"Nuestra electrónica actual es muy rígida, quebradiza y voluminosa", dice Bao, "pero si podemos hacerla como la piel, podría cambiar por completo la forma en que los humanos interactuamos con la electrónica". Nuestra piel, que forma una barrera protectora natural contra el medio ambiente, también podría servir de interfaz entre los humanos y los dispositivos.

Además de la robótica y las prótesis, Bao ve posibles aplicaciones de la piel electrónica en el campo de los dispositivos portátiles. Imaginemos un equipo que se lleve en el cuerpo como una segunda piel y que utilice sensores para medir con precisión la presión arterial, la temperatura o los niveles de glucosa y oxígeno en tiempo real: "Hay mucho interés por los wearables(dispositivos que se pueden llevar puestos) que van más allá de medir cuántos pasos damos al día o la frecuencia cardiaca", según Bao.

Inventos que salvan vidas

Un invento salido del laboratorio de investigación de Bao en Stanford podría fabricarse y probarse clínicamente en los próximos años. La empresa PyrAmes, de Silicon Valley, cofundada por Bao, está desarrollando una banda que se enrolla alrededor de la muñeca o el pie, y podría utilizarse para controlar la tensión arterial de bebés prematuros en unidades de cuidados intensivos. Está diseñada para registrar el flujo sanguíneo de forma continua, como suele hacerse con una vía arterial, sin necesidad de agujas que conllevan el riesgo de infección y daños en tejidos o nervios. Luego, la banda se conecta de forma inalámbrica con una tablet para controlar los cambios de presión arterial en tiempo real.

Para este tipo de aplicaciones, la electrónica debe ser extensible y flexible desde el principio. El equipo de investigadores de Bao ha adoptado un enfoque molecular para diseñar polímeros orgánicos con este objetivo. Un polímero es una molécula grande formada por muchos monómeros(moléculas simples) repetidos unidos entre sí como una larga cadena. Cambiando la estructura de estos monómeros, los investigadores pueden hacer que el material sea elástico y darle forma para que se adapte al cuerpo humano, incluso dentro de él.

Bao lleva varios años trabajando en electrónica "inspirada en la piel". Desde 2018, es presidenta del departamento de ingeniería química de Stanford, y fundó y dirige Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR), un programa de toda la universidad que reúne a científicos que trabajan en materiales, electrónica, sistemas, datos y ciencias médicas, y los conecta con la industria. La propia Bao tiene ya más de 100 patentes estadounidenses, una de ellas por el sensor detector de mariposas.

iles de terminaciones nerviosas que mantienen al cerebro conectado con el mundo exterior y nos permiten sentir el tacto, la presión y el dolor. Pero cuando Zhenan Bao mira la piel, ve algo más.

Para Bao, ingeniera química especializada en la fabricación de polímeros, la piel no es solamente un órgano sensorial, sino también un material. Uno que, en sus palabras, es flexible, pero también se estira, es autorreparable y biodegradable. (Vista de ese modo suena a ciencia ficción, ¿no crees?). Pues no está lejos; Bao trabaja en el campo emergente de la piel electrónica y se ha propuesto recrear las múltiples funciones de la piel humana para su uso en prótesis y robótica. Para las personas que llevan una prótesis, el sentido del tacto mejoraría enormemente su calidad de vida: les permitiría distinguir lo blando de lo duro y detectar lo peligrosamente afilado, o lo que está muy caliente, antes de que puedan causarles daño.

Cuando Bao se incorporó a la Universidad de Stanford en 2004, pocos investigadores trabajaban en sensores flexibles que pudieran envolver una mano artificial para imitar el sentido del tacto, y la experiencia previa de Baocon pantallas flexibles resultó útil. Para 2010, ella y sus colegas habían desarrollado un sensor flexible tan sensible que podía detectar una mariposa al posarse.

Bao y sus colegas de Stanford también trabajan en materiales poliméricos para pantallas que pueden estirarse, plegarse e incluso desmoronarse. En marzo de 2022, tras más de tres años de trabajo, publicaron en la revista Nature una prueba de concepto de un polímero emisor de luz que brilla como el filamento de un foco de luz. Los investigadores demostraron que su dispositivo puede llevarse en el nudillo de un dedo y estirarse hasta el doble de su longitud sin desgarrarse: "Se trata de una versión que se estira, que puede deformarse y cambiar su forma", afirma Bao. El prototipo solo puede mostrar una imagen estática de baja resolución, pero podría sentar las bases de futuros dispositivos electrónicos corporales que midan y muestren los signos vitales.

Hay muchas aplicaciones potenciales para la piel electrónica, dice Bao. Pero el camino hacia la comercialización es largo. Aun así, le mueve la idea de desarrollar dispositivos electrónicos que puedan beneficiar a largo plazo el diagnóstico médico y la atención sanitaria, ya sea en forma de prótesis, dispositivos para llevar puestos o incluso implantables. Su atención también se centra en los pequeños pasos y éxitos de su equipo de investigación en el desarrollo de componentes individuales: sensores, circuitos y los materiales flexibles, elásticos y biodegradables que los componen: "Para que el campo pueda evolucionar y tener una trayectoria a largo plazo, también tenemos que ser capaces de demostrar que podemos tener un impacto en un futuro próximo", asegura Bao.

Before we get to electronic skin, here's a fact you may already know: skin (natural skin) is the largest organ in our body, and also the most complex. Look at it under a microscope and you'll find “Our current electronics are very rigid, brittle, and bulky,” says Bao, “but if we can make them like skin, it could completely change the way humans interact with electronics” Our skin, which forms a natural protective barrier against the environment, could also serve as an interface between humans and devices.

In addition to robotics and prosthetics, Bao sees potential applications for electronic skin in the field of wearable devices. Imagine equipment that is worn on the body like a second skin and uses sensors to accurately measure blood pressure temperature, or glucose and oxygen levels in real time: “There is a lot of interest in wearables that go beyond measuring how many steps we take each day or our heart rate,” according to Bao.

Life-saving inventions

An invention from Bao's research lab at Stanford could be manufactured and clinically tested in the coming years. Silicon Valley-based company PyrAmes, co-founded by Bao, is developing a band that wraps around the wrist or foot and could be used to monitor the blood pressure of premature babies in intensive care units. It is designed to continuously monitor blood flow, as is typically done with an arterial line, without the need for needles that carry the risk of infection and tissue or nerve damage The band then connects wirelessly to a tablet to monitor blood pressure changes in real time.

For this type of application, the electronics must be stretchable and flexible from the outset. Bao's team of researchers has taken a molecular approach to designing organic polymers for this purpose. A polymer is a large molecule made up of many repeating monomers (simple molecules) linked together like a long chain. By changing the structure of these monomers, researchers can make the material elastic and shape it to fit the human body, even inside it.

Bao has been working on “skin-inspired” electronics for several years. Since 2018, she has been chair of Stanford's chemical engineering department, and she founded and directs the Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR), a university-wide program that brings together scientists working in materials, electronics, systems, data, and medical sciences and connects them with industry. Bao herself already has more than 100 U.S. patents, one of them for the butterfly-detecting sensor.

Thousands of nerve endings keep the brain connected to the outside world and allow us to feel touch, pressure, and pain. But when Zhenan Bao looks at skin, she sees something else.

For Bao, a chemical engineer specializing in polymer manufacturing, skin is not only a sensory organ, but also a material. One that, in her words, is flexible, but also stretches, is self-repairing, and biodegradable. (Seen that way, it sounds like science fiction, doesn't it?). Well, it's not far off; Bao works in the emerging field of electronic skin and has set out to recreate the multiple functions of human skin for use in prosthetics and robotics. For people who wear prosthetics, the sense of touch would greatly improve their quality of life: it would allow them to distinguish between soft and hard objects and detect dangerously sharp or very hot objects before they can cause harm.

When Bao joined Stanford University in 2004, few researchers were working on flexible sensors that could wrap around an artificial hand to mimic the sense of touch, and Bao's previous experience with flexible displays proved useful. By 2010, she and her colleagues had developed a flexible sensor so sensitive that it could detect a butterfly landing on it.

Bao and her colleagues at Stanford are also working on polymer materials for displays that can stretch, fold, and even crumple. In March 2022, after more than three years of work, they published a proof of concept in the journal Nature for a light-emitting polymer that glows like the filament of a light bulb. The researchers demonstrated that their device can be worn on a knuckle and stretched to twice its length without tearing: “It's a stretchable version that can be deformed and change its shape,” says Bao. The prototype can only display a low-resolution static image, but it could lay the foundation for future wearable electronic devices that measure and display vital signs.

There are many potential applications for electronic skin, says Bao. But the road to commercialization is long. Even so, he is motivated by the idea of developing electronic devices that can benefit medical diagnosis and healthcare in the long term, whether in the form of prostheses, wearable devices, or even implants. His attention is also focused on the small steps and successes of his research team in developing individual components: sensors, circuits, and the flexible, elastic, and biodegradable materials that compose them.  “For the field to evolve and have a long-term trajectory, we also have to be able to demonstrate that we can have an impact in the near future,” says Bao.

Before getting to electronic skin, here's a fact you might know: (natural) skin is the largest organ in our body, and also the most complex. Look at it under a microscope and you'll find m "Our current electronics are very rigid, brittle, and bulky," says Bao, "but if we can make them like skin, it could completely change the way humans interact with electronics." Our skin, which forms a natural protective barrier against the environment, could also serve as an interface between humans and devices.

In addition to robotics and prosthetics, Bao sees potential applications for electronic skin in the field of wearable devices. Imagine a device worn on the body like a second skin and using sensors to accurately measure blood pressure, temperature, or glucose and oxygen levels in real time: "There's a lot of interest in wearables that go beyond measuring how many steps we take each day or heart rate," according to Bao.

Inventions That Save Lives

An invention emerging from Bao's Stanford research lab could be manufactured and clinically tested in the coming years. The Silicon Valley company PyrAmes, co-founded by Bao, is developing a band that wraps around the wrist or foot and could be used to monitor the blood pressure of premature babies in intensive care units. It is designed to record blood flow continuously, as is typically done with an arterial line, without the need for needles that carry the risk of infection and tissue or nerve damage. The band then connects wirelessly to a tablet to monitor blood pressure changes in real time.

For these types of applications, electronics must be extensible and flexible from the start. Bao's team of researchers has taken a molecular approach to designing organic polymers for this purpose. A polymer is a large molecule made up of many repeating monomers (simple molecules) linked together in a long chain. By changing the structure of these monomers, researchers can make the material elastic and shape it to adapt to the human body, even within it.

Bao has been working on "skin-inspired" electronics for several years. Since 2018, she has been chair of Stanford's chemical engineering department and founded and directs the Stanford Wearable Electronics Initiative (eWEAR), a university-wide program that brings together scientists working in materials, electronics, systems, data, and medical sciences, and connects them with industry. Bao herself already holds more than 100 US patents, one of them for the butterfly-detecting sensor.

Records of nerve endings that keep the brain connected to the outside world and allow us to sense touch, pressure, and pain. But when Zhenan Bao looks at skin, she sees something else.

For Bao, a chemical engineer specializing in polymer manufacturing, skin is not only a sensory organ, but also a material. One that, in her words, is flexible, but also stretchable, self-healing, and biodegradable. (Seen that way, it sounds like science fiction, doesn't it?) Well, it's not far off; Bao works in the emerging field of electronic skin and has set out to recreate the multiple functions of human skin for use in prosthetics and robotics. For people who wear a prosthesis, the sense of touch will greatly improve their quality of life: it will allow them to distinguish soft from hard and detect dangerously sharp or very hot objects before they can cause harm.

When Bao joined Stanford University in 2004, few researchers were working on flexible sensors that could wrap around an artificial hand to mimic the sense of touch, and Bao's previous experience with flexible displays proved useful. By 2010, she and her colleagues had developed a flexible sensor so sensitive it could detect a butterfly landing.

Bao and her colleagues at Stanford are also working on polymer materials for displays that can stretch, fold, and even crumble. In March 2022, after more than three years of work, a proof-of-concept for a light-emitting polymer that glows like the filament of a light bulb was published in the journal Nature. The researchers demonstrated that their device can be worn on a finger knuckle and stretched to twice its length without tearing: "This is a stretchable version, which can deform and change its shape," says Bao. The prototype can only display a low-resolution, static image, but could lay the groundwork for future body electronics that measure and display vital signs.

There are many potential applications for electronic skin, says Bao. But the road to commercialization is long. Still, he is driven by the idea of ​​developing electronic devices that can benefit medical diagnostics and healthcare in the long term, whether in the form of prosthetics, wearables, or even implantables. His attention is also focused on the small steps and successes his research team has achieved in developing individual components: sensors, circuits, and the flexible, stretchable, and biodegradable materials that comprise them: "For the field to evolve and have a long-term trajectory, we also need to be able to demonstrate that we can have an impact in the near future," says Bao.