Name: fabrication and characterization of a conformal skin-like electronic system for quantitative, cutaneous wound management
Uploaded: 2015-09-02T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the startup funding from the School of Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University and some of electronic devices were prepared at the microfabrication facilities in the Wright Virginia Microelectronics Center. We acknowledge researchers who made contributions for the device and clinical data (Figures 3 and 5 in this paper), acquired from the published article10. W.-H.Y thanks Yoshiaki Hattori for the custom-made, data recording software.

The experiments for device fabrication, skin lamination, and characterization shown in Figures 1, 2, and 4 involved two volunteers, all performed in the Bio-interfaced NanoEngineering Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA, USA. This study was approved by the VCU Institutional Review Board (protocol number: HM20001454) and followed the research guidelines from the VCU Human Research. The device and clinical data shown in Figures 3 and 5 were a...

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This article highlights the methods and protocols to fabricate a conformal, skin-like electronics system that enables conformal lamination near the wound tissues, which offers quantitative measurement of skin temperature and thermal conductivity mapping on the skin. 
The key features include the utilization of novel techniques of materials transfer printing and hard-soft materials integration to design and develop the flexible/stretchable, soft electronic device. The use of biocompatible, elec...

In clinical study and biomedical research, monitoring of wound healing has focused on an invasive method that is based on the histological evaluation of tissue morphologic change in wounds1,2. Recently, rapid advancements in electronic technologies enable the development of high-precision imaging and analysis tools that can visually inspect the wound healing process via digital imaging3,4 or confocal scanning microscopy and spectroscopy4,5. However, those imaging approaches require high cost, complicated optical tools and operations, and more importantly, patients need to be immobilized during testing. Therefore, there exists a need for new devices and systems that are quantitative, non-invasive, easy-to-use, inexpensive, and multifunctional to offer more accurate wound management.
Here, we introduce a skin-like electronic system that provides precise, real-time mapping of temperature and thermal conductivity and delivers a precise level of heating at wound sites via conformal lamination of the device non-invasively. This device presents a class of technology, skin-mounted epidermal electronic systems that are designed to match to mechanical and material properties (total thickness, bending stiffness, effective moduli, and mass density) of the epidermis6-9.
The device is designed in a biocompatible, skin-friendly, water-proof, and reusable form that can be washed and disinfected for clinical applications on patients10. The conformal electronic device mounted near the wound tissues captures the inflammation phase (one of wound healing process), caused by increased blood flow and enzymatic reactions to the wound11,12, through quantitative recording of temperature8 and thermal conductivity13, correlated to hydration. Experimental and computational studies determine an optimal mechanics design to accommodate natural motions and applied strains without mechanical fracture and capture the underlying physics of stretching mechanics of the skin-like electronics that laminates conformally on the skin surface, which offers acquisition of high fidelity signals.
The protocols described in this article present the methods of microfabrication for skin-like electronic systems, testing preparation including device cleaning, equipment setup in a clinical setting, and clinical applications for quantitative monitoring of temperature and thermal conductivity on cutaneous wounds.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>3&#34; Silicon wafer</td>
			<td>University Wafer, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use as carrier to fabricate the device</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetone</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific, USA</td>
			<td>A18-1</td>
			<td>Use to clean a wafer and to remove photoresist</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopropanol (IPA)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific, USA</td>
			<td>A459-1</td>
			<td>Use to clean a wafer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AZ4620 photoresist</td>
			<td>AZ Electrionic Materials, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use to make patterns on metals and polymers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AZ400K developer</td>
			<td>AZ Electrionic Materials, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use to develop AZ4620 photoresist</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chromium etchant</td>
			<td>Transene, USA</td>
			<td>1020AC</td>
			<td>Use to etch Cr layer of device</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Copper etchant</td>
			<td>Transene, USA</td>
			<td>ASP-100</td>
			<td>Use to etch Cu layer of device</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sylgard 184 Silicone Elastomer Kit (PDMS)</td>
			<td>Dow Corning, USA</td>
			<td>39100000</td>
			<td>Use as a substrate for &#39;dry&#39; retrieval</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PI2545 polyimide</td>
			<td>HD MicroSystem, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use to encapsulate metal layer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Solaris</td>
			<td>Smooth-On, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use as substrate and to encapsulate device</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petridish</td>
			<td>Carolina, USA</td>
			<td>741255</td>
			<td>Use as mold to make substrate</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Water-Soluble Wave Solder Tape 5414</td>
			<td>3M, USA</td>
			<td>AM000000217</td>
			<td>Use to retrive device from PDMS layer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>High Activity Liquid Stainless Steel Flux</td>
			<td>Worthington, USA</td>
			<td>331929</td>
			<td>Use to remove oxidation layer on Cu</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Flexible, micro-film cable</td>
			<td>Elform, USA</td>
			<td>N/A (customized)</td>
			<td>Use to make the electrical connection between the electronic device and the data acquisition system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pH Neutral Cleaner</td>
			<td>Australian Gold, USA</td>
			<td>N/A</td>
			<td>Use as disinfectant solution to clean device in clinical testing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Solder</td>
			<td>Kester, USA</td>
			<td>24-6337-9703</td>
			<td>Use as material to solder hard wires</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultraviolet lamp</td>
			<td>Cole-Parmer, USA</td>
			<td>97600-00</td>
			<td>Use to activate PDMS layer as hydrophilic surface</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Multiplexer</td>
			<td>FixYourBoard, USA</td>
			<td>U802</td>
			<td>Use to acquire measurements from six sensing components&#160;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DC/AC current source</td>
			<td>Keithley, USA</td>
			<td>6221</td>
			<td>Use to supply current</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SMD Digital Hot Air Rework Station</td>
			<td>Aoyue, China</td>
			<td>968A+</td>
			<td>Use to solder hard wires, to electrically connect between the device and external instruments</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Infrared camera</td>
			<td>FLIR, USA</td>
			<td>435-0001-01-00</td>
			<td>Use to take infrared images in experiment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Digital multimeter</td>
			<td>Fluke, USA</td>
			<td>117</td>
			<td>Use to check electrical connection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lock-in amplifier</td>
			<td>Stanford Research System, USA</td>
			<td>SR830</td>
			<td>Use to perform four-point-probe-measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Electron beam evaporator</td>
			<td>9 scale Vacuum Products, USA</td>
			<td>N/A (customized)</td>
			<td>Use to deposit thin films (Cu and SiO2)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

fabrication and characterization of a conformal skin-like electronic system for quantitative, cutaneous wound management

Recent advances in the development of electronic technologies and biomedical devices offer opportunities for non-invasive, quantitative assessment of cutaneous wound healing on the skin. Existing methods, however, still rely on visual inspections through various microscopic tools and devices that normally include high-cost, sophisticated systems and require well trained personnel for operation and data analysis. Here, we describe methods and protocols to fabricate a conformal, skin-like electronics system that enables conformal lamination to the skin surface near the wound tissues, which provides recording of high fidelity electrical signals such as skin temperature and thermal conductivity. The methods of device fabrication provide details of step-by-step preparation of the microelectronic system that is completely enclosed with elastomeric silicone materials to offer electrical isolation. The experimental study presents multifunctional, biocompatible, waterproof, reusable, and flexible/stretchable characteristics of the device for clinical applications. Protocols of clinical testing provide an overview and sequential process of cleaning, testing setup, system operation, and data acquisition with the skin-like electronics, gently mounted on hypersensitive, cutaneous wound and contralateral tissues on patients.

Figure 1 presents an overview of the characteristics of the conformal, skin-like electronic system, designed for quantitative, cutaneous wound management on patients. The multifunctional electronic device consists of microscale fractal structures3,14 and filamentary serpentine traces9,17 on a thin elastomeric membrane that offers exceptional mechanical stretchability and bendability. The compliant device that is completely enclosed by silicone layers enables gentle, reversible lamin...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management at JoVE.com

Fabrication and Characterization of a Conformal Skin-like Electronic System for Quantitative, Cutaneous Wound Management

This article presents methods to fabricate and characterize a conformal, skin-like electronic system and protocols for the use in clinical applications, particularly on cutaneous wound management.

Recent advances in the development of electronic technologies and biomedical devices offer opportunities for non-invasive, quantitative assessment of ...

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