Light emitting diodes on fabric for wearable medical therapy

Penta Medical是行业领先的便携式激光治疗设备的制造商，用于治疗软组织损伤。该设备被放置在皮肤上的受伤部位，以提供红外光进入组织。由于发出这种光的发光二极管（LED）存在于传统的刚性电路板上，因此治疗更大，形状更笨拙的身体部位（如肩膀）很麻烦。在这个项目中，LED和相关的电路将被集成在织物上，而不是传统的刚性板。电路图案将使用导电银油墨直接喷墨印刷在织物表面，然后焊接LED。尼龙6，6，典型的降落伞中使用的，将被用作纺织品，可以承受电路制造所需的高温。要解决的挑战是织物表面的粗糙度和金属连接耐受反复弯曲的要求。将探索各种类型的尼龙6，6和含有弹性体的可拉伸银油墨。如果LED可以成功地集成到织物上，这将使Penta Medical能够设计出与身体适形的下一代光疗设备，从而适用于所有受伤部位。这将为公司带来经济利益，也为最终用户带来利益。此外，在织物上印刷电路的能力将对加拿大不断发展的电子纺织品行业很有价值。

Penta Medical is the maker of an industry-leading portable laser therapy device to treat soft-tissue injuries. The device is placed on the skin at the location of injury to deliver infrared light into the tissue. Because the light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit this light exist on conventional, rigid circuit boards, treating larger, more awkwardly-shaped body parts such as shoulders is cumbersome. In this project, LEDs and associated circuity will be integrated on fabric rather than a conventional rigid board. The circuit pattern will be inkjet printed directly on the surface of fabric using conductive silver ink, followed by the soldering of the LEDs. Nylon 6,6, typical of that used in parachutes, will be used as the textile which can tolerate the high temperatures needed for circuit fabrication. Challenges to be addressed are the roughness of the fabric surface and the requirement for the metal connections to tolerate repeated bending. Various types of nylon 6,6 and stretchable silver inks containing elastomers will be explored.If LEDs can successfully be integrated onto fabric, this will allow Penta Medical to design a next-generation light therapy device that is conformal to the body and thus appropriate for all locations of injury. This will have both economic benefits for the company and benefits for the end-users as well. Furthermore, the ability to print circuitry on fabrics will be valuable to Canada's growing e-textile industry.