<a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/03/silk_electronic_implants/">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/03/silk_electronic_implants/</a><br><br><h2>Boffins working on biodegradable flexi LED implants</h2>Silky hand-tattoo displays to replace watches, PDAs?
<p class="byline">By <a href="http://forms.theregister.co.uk/mail_author/?story_url=/2009/11/03/silk_electronic_implants/" title="Send email to the author">Lewis Page</a> • <a href="http://search.theregister.co.uk/?author=Lewis%20Page" class="more-by-author" title="More stories on this site by Lewis Page">Get more from this author</a></p>
Boffins in America are working on biodegradable, flexible electronic
devices printed on silk, which could be implanted in the human body and
would decay naturally over time. Applications could include LED
displays inlaid beneath the skin, or direct nerve-controlled interfaces.

<p><em>MIT Tech Review</em> reports on the new in-body tech, which is
seen as much more practical and less invasive than current implants.
These have rigid structures and have to be "canned" or encased to
protect them from body fluids and vice versa.</p><div id="article-mpu-container"><p>Rather, Professor Brian Litt of Pennsylvania Uni plans to build
devices laid on flexible, foldable, rollable thin silk sheets. The silk
backing is gradually <span style="margin-left: -51px; margin-top: -57px; opacity: 0.25;" class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble smarterwiki-popup-bubble-active"><span class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-body"><span class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-links smarterwiki-clearfix"><span class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-links-row smarterwiki-clearfix"><a target="_blank" title="Search Twitter" href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Boffins%20working%20on%20biodegradable%20flexi%20LED%20implants%0A%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Alert%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Print%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Post%20comment%0A%0ASilky%20hand-tattoo%20displays%20to%20replace%20watches%2C%20PDAs%3F%0A%0ABy%20Lewis%20Page%20%E2%80%A2%20Get%20more%20from%20this%20author%0A%0APosted%20in%20PCs%20%26%20Chips%2C%203rd%20November%202009%2011%3A50%20GMT%0A%0AFree%20whitepaper%20%E2%80%93%20Network%20performance%20management%20%3A%20What%20it%20is%20good%20for%3F%0A%0ABoffins%20in%20America%20are%20working%20on%20biodegradable%2C%20flexible%20electronic%20devices%20printed%20on%20silk%2C%20which%20could%20be%20implanted%20in%20the%20human%20body%20and%20would%20decay%20naturally%20over%20time.%20Applications%20could%20include%20LED%20displays%20inlaid%20beneath%20the%20skin%2C%20or%20direct%20nerve-controlled%20interfaces.%0A%0AMIT%20Tech%20Review%20reports%20on%20the%20new%20in-body%20tech%2C%20which%20is%20seen%20as%20much%20more%20practical%20and%20less%20invasive%20than%20current%20implants.%20These%20have%20rigid%20structures%20and%20have%20to%20be%20%22canned%22%20or%20encased%20to%20protect%20them%20from%20body%20fluids%20and%20vice%20versa.%0A%0ARather%2C%20Professor%20Brian%20Litt%20of%20Pennsylvania%20Uni%20plans%20to%20build%20devices%20laid%20on%20flexible%2C%20foldable%2C%20rollable%20thin%20silk%20sheets.%20The%20silk%20backing%20is%20gradually%20" class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-link"><img src="http://twitter.com/favicon.ico" alt="" class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-link-favicon"></a><a target="_blank" title="Search Google" href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Boffins%20working%20on%20biodegradable%20flexi%20LED%20implants%0A%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Alert%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Print%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Post%20comment%0A%0ASilky%20hand-tattoo%20displays%20to%20replace%20watches%2C%20PDAs%3F%0A%0ABy%20Lewis%20Page%20%E2%80%A2%20Get%20more%20from%20this%20author%0A%0APosted%20in%20PCs%20%26%20Chips%2C%203rd%20November%202009%2011%3A50%20GMT%0A%0AFree%20whitepaper%20%E2%80%93%20Network%20performance%20management%20%3A%20What%20it%20is%20good%20for%3F%0A%0ABoffins%20in%20America%20are%20working%20on%20biodegradable%2C%20flexible%20electronic%20devices%20printed%20on%20silk%2C%20which%20could%20be%20implanted%20in%20the%20human%20body%20and%20would%20decay%20naturally%20over%20time.%20Applications%20could%20include%20LED%20displays%20inlaid%20beneath%20the%20skin%2C%20or%20direct%20nerve-controlled%20interfaces.%0A%0AMIT%20Tech%20Review%20reports%20on%20the%20new%20in-body%20tech%2C%20which%20is%20seen%20as%20much%20more%20practical%20and%20less%20invasive%20than%20current%20implants.%20These%20have%20rigid%20structures%20and%20have%20to%20be%20%22canned%22%20or%20encased%20to%20protect%20them%20from%20body%20fluids%20and%20vice%20versa.%0A%0ARather%2C%20Professor%20Brian%20Litt%20of%20Pennsylvania%20Uni%20plans%20to%20build%20devices%20laid%20on%20flexible%2C%20foldable%2C%20rollable%20thin%20silk%20sheets.%20The%20silk%20backing%20is%20gradually%20" class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-link"><img src="http://www.google.com/favicon.ico" alt="" class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-link-favicon"></a></span><span class="smarterwiki-popup-bubble-links-row smarterwiki-clearfix"><a target="_blank" title="Search Wikipedia" href="http://smarterfox.com/wikisearch/search?q=Boffins%20working%20on%20biodegradable%20flexi%20LED%20implants%0A%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Alert%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Print%0A%20%20%20%20*%20Post%20comment%0A%0ASilky%20hand-tattoo%20displays%20to%20replace%20watches%2C%20PDAs%3F%0A%0ABy%20Lewis%20Page%20%E2%80%A2%20Get%20more%20from%20this%20author%0A%0APosted%20in%20PCs%20%26%20Chips%2C%203rd%20November%202009%2011%3A50%20GMT%0A%0AFree%20whitepaper%20%E2%80%93%20Network%20performance%20management%20%3A%20What%20it%20is%20good%20for%3F%0A%0ABoffins%20in%20America%20are%20working%20on%20biodegradable%2C%20flexible%20electronic%20devices%20printed%20on%20silk%2C%20which%20could%20be%20implanted%20in%20the%20human%20body%20and%20would%20decay%20naturally%20over%20time.%20Applications%20could%20include%20LED%20displays%20inlaid%20beneath%20the%20skin%2C%20or%20direct%20nerve-controlled%20interfaces.%0A%0AMIT%20Tech%20Review%20reports%20on%20the%20new%20in-body%20tech%2C%20which%20is%20seen%20as%20much%20more%20practical%20and%20less%20invasive%20than%20current%20implants.%20These%20have%20rigid%20structures%20and%20have%20to%20be%20%22canned%22%20or%20encased%20to%20protect%20them%20from%20body%20fluids%20and%20vice%20versa.%0A%0ARather%2C%20Professor%20Brian%20Litt%20of%20Pennsylvania%20Uni%20plan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without difficulty by the body - Litt and his fellow boffins can design
for a period of months or years as required - leaving only microscopic
amounts of silicon, as the circuitry is only nanometres thick. Silicon
is "biocompatible" rather than "biodegradable", but in such tiny
amounts it isn't an issue.</p>
</div>

<p>All this means that an electronic device can be rolled up or folded
and slipped into place through a relatively small incision. Litt and
his colleagues believe they will soon have working silk-backed LEDs,
for instance, allowing one to have an LED "tattoo" beneath one's skin
able to display anything from the time to one's current blood-sugar
count.</p>

<p>Other ploys might include connections to the nerves, perhaps wirelessly linked to computers or other devices. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/11/braingate_neuro_plug_trials/">Other researchers</a>
have also proposed using such hookups to "jumpwire" past broken or
damaged nerve connections, so restoring control over a paralysed limb.</p>

<p>The flexibility of wetted silk might even allow circuitry to conform
to the contours of the brain, according to the scientists, perhaps
allowing deep-brain stimulation techniques of the sort used to keep
Parkinson's disease under control.</p>

<p>Obstacles that lie ahead before we all get our under-skin bluetooth
OLED displays, brain-to-computer direct interfaces, nerve jumpwire
links and so on include the elimination of gold and titanium from the
flexi-circuitry tech, and in many cases the matter of power supplies.</p>

"It would be nice to see the sophistication of [implant] devices
start to catch up with the sophistication of our basic science, and
this technology could really close that gap," Litt <a target="_blank" href="http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23847/page1/">told</a> <em>Tech Review</em>.<br><br><br>