電子皮膚讓身體變成一臺電腦

A patch of gold， just a few centimeters wide and light as a feather， could reveal your innermost thoughts and feelings.

This is the premise of Professor John Rogers' Biostamp. By attaching flexible， miniature sensors to the user's temple， he has been able to track brain waves in real time and transmit them as messages.

\"Our prototypes can provide a variety of monitoring and stimulation functions，\" says materials scientist Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. \"We can pick up coordinated firing of neurons， and run that activity through a computer spelling interface， so that brainwaves pick letters out of a virtual keyboard display and type messages.\"

Previously， such signals could only be detected by using a full helmet of heavy electrodes， which required the patient's skin to be scrubbed， and could only be worn safely for a short time.

Rogers' patch is light enough to be almost imperceptible， allowing for lengthy use even outside of the lab， so that the equipment is trained to pick up signals more accurately.

The no-strings approach also eliminates background noise that obscures signals and creates positional uncertainty. For even greater accuracy， the Illinois team are using increasingly high-density electrodes that generate thousands of times more brain activity information.

The immediate targets are two ground-breaking medical applications. One is to measure the brain waves associated with seizures in epileptic patients， flagging up issues before the point of crisis. The other is to monitor sleep patterns for disorders and other insights， which had been impossible with the traditional heavy hardware.

Anytime， Anywhere

The brain is just the latest and most ambitious target. Since Rogers invented the Biostamp to great fanfare in 2011， it has been used all over the body to measure heartbeat， temperature and other vital signs. They have been adapted by Reebok to monitor the force of impacts in sport， by L'Oreal to track skin hydration， and the US military to monitor the condition of soldiers.

'Biocompatible' devices are even being tested inside the body. The emerging field of electroceuticals offers the possibility of treatment as well as diagnosis， using targeted electronic stimulation as an alternative to drugs， a potentially revolutionary approach that can be applied to many organ problems.

The Illinois researchers have inserted electronics into the pelvic nerve to address bladder dysfunction， and on the surface of the heart to play the role of advanced pacemaker. They have also engineered stamps to dissolve safely inside the body after a set period of time.

Trials are limited to rodents currently， while researchers work through the safety hurdles that would allow the technology to be used on humans. Rogers acknowledges some risk in introducing foreign elements to the body， but is convinced this represents the path forward.

\"The history of electronics is about getting closer to the individual. At first it was a computer down the hall， followed by a desktop， then a laptop， a phone in your pocket and a watch on your wrist. Now it could be electronics integrated the skin， bioelectronics， and fully implantable devices. To go fully into the realm of integrated electronics makes sense to me.\"

Key to this progress is a paradigm shift in electronics from rigid boards to soft and flexible devices that the human body can accommodate， and the Biostamp represents several adaptability breakthroughs.

Emerging possibilities， even for superheroes

From the original Biostamp in 2011， Rogers' lab have filed over 100 related patents， leading to the establishment of multiple new companies， the most prolific of which -- MC10 -- has received over $60 million in private funding.

Research into electronic skin has become a global phenomenon from the University of Tokyo producing \"unbreakable\" circuits， to the Liebniz Institute producing sensors that detect magnetic fields， and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln creating specialized equipment todetect Breast Cancer. Google is also getting in on the act.

Professor Todd Coleman -- a former student of Rogers' -- is among those developing variations on the Biostamp at his Neural Interaction Lab at the University College San Diego. The lab works on medical projects such as identifying brain damage in premature babies， as well as entertainment possibilities.

\"Some people are infatuated with the idea of using brain signals in experiences such as dating， or to augment gaming experiences，\" says Coleman. His team have been able to harness brain waves to pilot drones through heavy electrodes， and is developing the means to have a Biostamp perform the same function.

Coleman recently launched the commercial startupNeuroverse in partnership with neurobiologist Ricardo Gil da Costa， which demonstrated the entertainment possibilities in a 2014 collaboration with Marvel Comics. The scientists designed a brain-computer interface （BCI） for the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N exhibition in New York that allowed gamers to become superhero characters and have their brain waves converted into spectacular actions.

For a better you

If such interfaces are accessible enough for non-specialists to use and understand， we may be entering a new era of personal responsibility for health and lifestyle.

\"We need to ensure that these devices ultimately help people to live healthy lives and make better decisions，\" says Coleman. \"Are doctors going to look at them remotely， or will they allow lifestyle modification without a doctor？ How do we build an approach in which people change their lives based on the information their getting？\"

The public reaction to electronic skin technologies has been mixed， from the enthusiasm of gamers and early-adopters， to scepticism from privacy advocates concerned that we may lose control of sensitive personal data. But the investment and research is rapidly accelerating， and even the aesthetics are now being addressed through the development of jewelry and skin-mounted LED screens.

Jawbones and Fitbits could soon be outdated， with wearable technology just a prelude to full integration.

http：//www.edition.cnn.com/2015/05/15/tech/electronic-skin/index.html

伊利諾伊大學約翰·羅杰斯教授的“生物印章”技術可通過在使用者太陽穴安裝可移動的微小的感應器實時記錄腦波，并將其傳遞為訊息。實際上大腦只是這項技術的一個內容而已。自從2011年羅杰斯教授發(fā)明該項技術以來，它就被用于人體全身以探測心疼、體溫和其他生命信號，并獲得了超過100項的相關專利。如果這項技術被更多的非專業(yè)人士所使用，人類會進入一個更加健康的時代。