Light emitting diodes on fabric for wearable medical therapy

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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.