Temptime and Thinfilm to develop smart label for pharmaceuticals

Temptime is looking to expand the range of monitoring services for healthcare after signing an agreement with leading smart labels firm Thinfilm.

Collaboration model
The two companies will now cooperate on evolving Thinfilm's existing printed electronics temperature-sensing smart label to allow it to measure the integrity of packaged pharmaceuticals during transport and in storage. Thinfilm's label is based on its first stand-alone printed electronic circuit which was announced in October 2013. The technology is also being successfully marketed at the perishable food packaging segment too.

The new labels will complement the existing range of specialist medical labels sold by Temptime.

Renaat Van den Hooff, president of Temptime, says: 'We are pleased to align with Thinfilm, an equally innovative company, to develop and produce cost-effective, electronic temperature indicators that accurately communicate critical temperature threshold data...[to] alert people to the risk of using medical products damaged by extreme temperatures.'

Healthcare markets
A key advantage of using the Thinfilm's labels in pharmeceuticals is that its digital display removes any ambiguity from temperature readings and whether a temperature that will damage a product has been exceeded.

Working with Temptime will give Thinfilm a partner in the healthcare industry, a market it sees as a major opportunity. It is believed that aging populations and the increased need to monitor them cheaply will create a demand for future smart labels with integrated biosensors.

The Norwegian company is well placed to exploit this, especially since its acquisition of Kovio in January gave it access to that firm's Near Field Communication (NFC) patented technology. This gives an easy route to communicate biosensor readings back to a clinician, as NFC capability is increasingly becoming a standard feature on Android system smartphones. 

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