PHOTO：VCG

By Staff Reporters

Scientists at China's Westlake University have developed a highly conductive 3D printing ink that can build circuits in hydrogel to create devices that can be used to monitor heart rate and stimulate nerves.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips, being used in credit cards and as pet microchips, could also be added to the jelly-like hydrogel to store information like medical records, according to the researchers.

The tissue-like softness and high water content of hydrogel electronics render them highly promising for biomedical applications. The approach should, therefore, open up new design possibilities for soft, customizable, 3D hydrogel electronics for diagnostic and treatment devices.

Hydrogel is a network of hydrophilic polymers that holds a large amount of water and is similar to biological tissue. To make electronic devices out of hydrogels, they need to contain stretchy, conductive, and other functional materials.

In the study, the researchers created hydrogel electronics using hydrogel as a supporting matrix and ink with silver, the most conductive metal. The end result can be stretched, twisted, or compressed and will return to its original shape.

Researchers said that highly conductive printing ink can be used to create circuits in the jelly-like hydrogel, which can then be used for devices to monitor heart rate and stimulate nerves.