"Transient electronics" dissolve once they're not needed
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A biodegradable integrated circuit is inserted under the skin of a lab rat (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
All of the materials are biocompatible, and are reportedly harmless once they are absorbed by the body (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
The actual electronics are made mainly from porous silicon, with magnesium conductors (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
A biodegradable integrated circuit during dissolution in water (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
The amount of time that the electronics last is determined mainly by the thickness of the encapsulating layers (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
A biodegradable integrated circuit during dissolution in water (Photo: Beckman Institute, University of Illinois and Tufts University)
Article Summary
We’ve certainly been hearing a lot lately about tiny electronic devices that can do things such as delivering medication after being implanted in the body, measuring structural stress upon being attached to a bridge, or monitoring pollution after being placed in the environment. In all of these cases, the device has to be retrieved once it’s served its purpose, or just left in place indefinitely. Now, however, an interdisciplinary team of researchers have demonstrated “transient electronics,” which dissolve into nothing after a pre-determined amount of time.
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