Athlete Electrical Muscle Stimulation Enters Wearable Era

A US company, SmartMio, is designing versions of its wireless electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device to fully integrate with new wearable devices including Google Wear and Moto 360. The product will align with an emerging trend for the first generation of wearable technology and target the serious athlete.

SmartMio
The device, also known as SmartMio, is fitted to the skin and stimulates the wearer's muscles to contract repeated with electrical current. Rather than relying on wires and external controls, SmartMio will now be integrated with smart fitness devices via a BlueTooth connection. By integrating it into a wearable electronics network the developers believe they have created 'the most interactive and user-friendly EMS interface in the world.'
In tests, the company claims that using its EMS as part of an integrated training programme has enhanced the lifting capacity of an elite weightlifter by 20 kilogrammes after just 2 weeks.

Prototype
A prototype of the SmartMio device has now been developed backed by $50,000 (€36,500) of crowd-sourced cash. It has been tested to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for medical devices and it is planned to have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for sales in the US by December 2014.

The patches are flexible, will adhere to the skin and are powered by a lithium-ion battery, that can hold its charge for a week. Its versatility has already been proven by a team of mountaineers who have used the EMS equipment during an ascent of Mount Everest

Consumer rollout
The first version of SmartMio will sell for $149 (€109) or $289 (€211) for a two pad unit. This is close to the full cost of the device, though the firm are much keener at this point to prove the concept and allow EMS to become fully integrated into the evolving of smart wearable electronics - hence the importance of the development work with Google and Motorola.

In the past, the validity of EMS as a sports training concept has been damaged by adverts that presented it as an exercise-free way to achieve good muscle tone; but SmartMio will be firmly aimed at professional and serious amateur athletes.

Once market share is established, the company will then look to move beyond EMS fitness devices and develop other models. These would be used in therapeutic roles, for pain reduction, aiding muscle repair following injury or to stimulate blood flow during prolonged air travel to protect against deep vein thrombosis.

Scottish-Polish team achieves record 90% luminance for red OLEDs

University researchers in Poland have employed two novel materials to produce what they claim are the brightest red OLEDs ever, and are considering their future application in treating cancer.

Europium
The new compounds were produced by introducing phosphine oxides to the element europium at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC-PAS) in Warsaw. Testing has shown that these are able to achieve luminescence quantum yields of up to 90% for red light with a wavelength of 612nm.

A second research team at St Andrews University in Fife, then used the new compounds to create prototype high-efficiency red OLEDs. Critically both materails are capable of being easily used into fast low-cost OLED production lines at room temperature and when completed do not degrade under exposure to light or oxygen.

Treating cancer
One application that is envisaged for the new printable red OLEDs is in wearable therapeutic patches. The plastic electronics would be integrated in a flexible patch to worn on the skin of a patient, where due to their efficiency they would draw very little power. When placed over a specific area the red light could be used to stimulate active cancer-treatment ingredients previously introduced to the patient.

Such an approach would allow the patient to stay mobile and reduce the time spent in hospital using specialised medical equipment - cutting the cost for healthcare providers.

Other uses for the high-efficiency red OLEDs are in displays and vehicle lighting.

In 2011, the IPC-PAS received €3.3 million via the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme to help fund its work.

Apple is reported to have purchased a batch of 65-inch OLED panels for development of a future version of its television, provisionally dubbed the iTV.

OLED switch?According to coverage in the Korea Herald the Californian company has sourced the sample panels from a Korean supplier, but has not yet fully committed to the following the OLED path set by LG and Samsung. 

It was originally planned that the iTV would use modern liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and be available in 65 and 77-inch models in the second half of 2014. However in October 2013, Apple announced it was pushing the launch date back to 2015 - a move which has been linked to a possible decision to switch to OLEDs, if an adequate large panel supplier can be found.

Wearable controller
Other reports have emerged that when it is finally launched the new television will come with a wearable electronic iRing to allow gesture control instead of conventional button based remote controls.

The name of the product is in doubt too, as iTV would potentially conflict with the name of the British television network, ITV - meaning it might need an alternative designation, especially in the UK. 

Printed Electronics Temperature Labels to Enhance Food Supply Chain in 2015

Plastic electronic labels innovator Thinfilm has announced a partnership deal with PakSense to sell the first generation of its printed electronic temperature sensing labels into the Americas.

Under the deal, PakSense has gained the exclusive right to sell the technology developed by the Norwegian company to its customers within the ambient, chilled and frozen food supply chain in North, Central and South America. The new labels will be integrated with PakSense's existing temperature monitoring labels used to assure the quality of shipments of packaged meat, produce and seafood.

Pre-order for 2015
The relative cheapness with which the plastic electronics temperature-monitoring labels can be produced means PakSense will be able to use several within each shipment pallet giving a more detailed picture of whether part or all of a container has exceeded a safe level.

PakSense has already submitted pre-orders for the labels which have been developed from a prototype demonstrated in 2013. They will be made available to its client base of major food retailers and suppliers from early in 2015.

Partnerships to market
The agreement with PakSense follows ThinFilm's established business tactic of evolving technology and then licensing a firm with an existing market presence, especially in the US, to allow a rapid penetration of a relevant market sector.

In January 2014, ThinFilm signed an accord with Brady to supply time sensitive labels for security applications.

Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm, explains: 'PakSense is a market leader in the development of intelligent sensing products specifically designed to monitor perishable goods - in addition to being a noted expert in cold chain transport and distribution. They maintain an extensive network of resellers and distributors, which makes them an ideal Thinfilm partner.'

A deal to rollout a label employing the same technology for the same function in healthcare and pharmaceuticals was announced on 31 March. The partner in this instance is Temptime based in New Jersey.

David Oster, CEO of PakSense, says: 'By introducing Thinfilm's printed electronics technology to the perishable foods space, PakSense will provide another tool to help ensure overall product integrity. We are delighted to pass this value along to our customers and look forward to working with Thinfilm on additional technology developments in the future.'

On-pack marking
It has been conjectured that in future smart labels with a temperature-monitoring function could become a standard feature on food packs and Thinfilm has an established development partnership with packaging manufacture Bemis to produce these.

Thinfilm and its partners are aiming to disrupt the global market for temperature monitoring sensors is estimated to be worth €2.54 billion. Around 200 million chemical sensing labels are currently sold each year at an average price of €0.22 each.

RF-future
While products developed from Thinfilm's first smart label platform are now clearly gaining market traction through their partners, the company has bolder plans for the future. In February it bought out the US smart label company, Kovio, thereby gaining access to its Near-Field-Communications (NFC) expertise and patents. NFC is a simple communications protocol compatible with modern Android system smartphones.

It is planned to design and build a smart label incorporating Thinfilm's sensors, printed logic and an NFC capability before the close of 2014 - doing this will potentially open up many more opportunities, especially in applications where direct contact with the consumer is desired. Ultimately, because a flexible printed electronics label is so cheap to produce the company hope they will become ubiquitous with many everyday items, forming a key building block of the Internet of Things.

OLED Lights Reach New Levels of Efficiency

Philips and Konica Minolta have both announced details of new super-efficient OLED lighting panels. Both are white light panels. This places them in a strong position for applications within the general lighting market.

The Japanese firm's new unit is 1,500 mm²and has a light output of 131 lumens per watt (lm/W). This beats its previous best performing OLED panel which had an efficiency of 103lm/W. It employs internal quantum efficiency and light extraction efficiency technology.

Phillips will give more details on its new panel in a presentation scheduled to happen at the SID 2014 Display Week in June. The Philips unit just beats the Konica panel, by giving 132lm/W, due to advanced optical design.

Konica meanwhile has announced that in Q3 it will begin mass production of OLED panels at a new custom-build €72 million facility in Japan.

Bayer Sells Off Graphene Patents

Bayer Material Science has announced that it is selling off a decade's worth of patents for graphene to another German company, which specialises in carbon composites.

Under the terms of the agreement announced on 31 March, 10 years' worth of intellectual property in graphene and carbon nanotubes will be transferred from Bayer to FutureCarbon based in Bayreuth. The price FutureCarbon has paid under the deal has not been publicised.

Walter Schutz, managing director of FutureCarbon, says: 'We are happy that we were able to acquire the Bayer patents for further market realisation of the technology. They expand our applications base substantially and open up new possibilities and business segments for us.'

In 2013, Bayer announced that it was closing the multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) production line on which it had spent a considerable amount of money, as the market for the much heralded material became saturated.

Bayer Material Science's CEO, Patrick Thomas, made the point that he did not consider that either material should now be considered a dead end. He says: 'We remain confident that the technology harbours tremendous potential, particularly for a renowned specialist company like FutureCarbon.'

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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