Biomedical devices go wild

John RogersGeorge MalliarasTakao SomeyaIn their studies of grand challenges for the global community in the 21st century, the National Academy of Engineering concluded that advances in “…the acquisition, management, and use of information in health…” will greatly enhance the quality and efficiency of medical care and our ability to respond to public health emergencies. Decisions and preventative measures informed by real-time data and associated analytics will only become more urgent as global age demographics shift, particularly as the proportion of people over 65 rises to near 17% by 2050. Emerging classes of body-integrated electronic sensors offer unique capabilities for collecting and distributing continuous, clinical-quality health information and thereby improving the delivery of treatments to the elderly and other vulnerable populations, regardless of their location. These new, futuristic bioelectronic devices serve as the foundations for a range of powerful tools and microsystems that seamlessly and non-invasively integrate with the skin, in an imperceptible fashion. Integrated technologies supported by bioelectronic platforms will automatically capture and share critical physiological data with physicians, health care officials, family members, and care providers who, in turn, can use the information to inform and improve health care at individual, community, …