Organic semiconductors developed for light emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodiodes (OPDs) have been preimarily applied to display and solar technologies due to their potential for large-area roll-to-roll manufacturing at high volumes.  These materials are solution processes, compatible with printing technologies and the use of flexible substrates.  These attributes also make organic optoelectronics very attractive for medical sensors, where flexibiliy combined with large areas can result in an improvement of the overall sensor performance.[1]  In the past 10 years, a lot of resources were used to improve the stability of organic semiconductors in order to meet the lifetime requirements of displays and photovoltaic devices. When compared to the above markets, disposable medical sensors have less stringent lifetime requirements on the materials, since these devces would be used only for a few days as opposed to years.  Printing technologies also allow the sensor design to match the shape and size of sensor to the user.  In this talk, we will discuss the use of organic semiconductor materials and metal nanoparticles in large area medical devices.  We demonstrate that vital signs such as pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature and ECG can be accurately monitored using novel printed devices.<br/><br/>[1] CM Lochner, Y. Khan, A. Pierre, A. C. Arias, Nature Communications, 5, 5745 (2014).

Use of polymeric semiconductors in flexible sensors

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.