'Electric Plastic' Could Unleash Next-Gen Implants and Wearable Tech (science.org) 38
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Magazine: Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps and heartbeat like an Apple Watch. Or clothing that keeps you cool with built-in air conditioning. Or even a flexible implant that could help your heart better than a bulky pacemaker. That's the promise of a new, electrically active material researchers have created by combining short chains of amino acids called peptides with snippets of a polymer plastic. This "electric plastic," reported this month in Nature, can store energy or record information, opening the door to self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with bodies better than current tech. [...]
Samuel Stupp, a materials scientist at Northwestern University, and his colleagues thought they could improve on polyvinylidene fluoride's (PVDF) properties. The team connected peptides with small PVDF segments, which naturally assembled into long, flexible ribbons. The molecules then coalesced into bundles and aligned to form an electro-active material. "Remarkably," Stupp says, "the self-assembly process is triggered by adding water." The new material overcomes PVDF's limitations. It requires 100 times less voltage to switch polarization compared with other ferroelectric materials, making it ideal for low-power applications. And it retains its ferroelectric properties at temperatures of 110C -- about 40C higher than other PVDF materials.
Stupp's new material can store energy or information by electrically switching the polarity of each ribbon. And because the peptide on the end of each ribbon can be connected to proteins on neurons or other cells, the molecules can record the signals from the brain, heart, or other organs -- or electrically stimulate them. By using low-power techniques like ultrasound to "charge" the molecules, the material could be used to stimulate neurons as a treatment for chronic paralysis, Stupp says. Study co-author Yang Yang, an electrical power engineer at Northwestern, notes that PVDF is biocompatible, making the material a promising candidate for soft implants that could be wirelessly controlled from outside the body. Stupp's team has conducted small-scale evaluations of molecules, but scaling up will require placing water-suspended structures onto devices without altering them -- a challenge noted by chemist Frank Leibfarth. Even with this hurdle, "This advance has enabled a number of attractive properties compared to other organic polymers," he says.
Stupp added: "This paper has a much broader concept than just vinylidene fluoride. There probably are other possibilities ... that don't have fluorine."
Samuel Stupp, a materials scientist at Northwestern University, and his colleagues thought they could improve on polyvinylidene fluoride's (PVDF) properties. The team connected peptides with small PVDF segments, which naturally assembled into long, flexible ribbons. The molecules then coalesced into bundles and aligned to form an electro-active material. "Remarkably," Stupp says, "the self-assembly process is triggered by adding water." The new material overcomes PVDF's limitations. It requires 100 times less voltage to switch polarization compared with other ferroelectric materials, making it ideal for low-power applications. And it retains its ferroelectric properties at temperatures of 110C -- about 40C higher than other PVDF materials.
Stupp's new material can store energy or information by electrically switching the polarity of each ribbon. And because the peptide on the end of each ribbon can be connected to proteins on neurons or other cells, the molecules can record the signals from the brain, heart, or other organs -- or electrically stimulate them. By using low-power techniques like ultrasound to "charge" the molecules, the material could be used to stimulate neurons as a treatment for chronic paralysis, Stupp says. Study co-author Yang Yang, an electrical power engineer at Northwestern, notes that PVDF is biocompatible, making the material a promising candidate for soft implants that could be wirelessly controlled from outside the body. Stupp's team has conducted small-scale evaluations of molecules, but scaling up will require placing water-suspended structures onto devices without altering them -- a challenge noted by chemist Frank Leibfarth. Even with this hurdle, "This advance has enabled a number of attractive properties compared to other organic polymers," he says.
Stupp added: "This paper has a much broader concept than just vinylidene fluoride. There probably are other possibilities ... that don't have fluorine."
Sounds pretty cool, but (Score:4, Interesting)
From a security standpoint, this part set off alarm bells.
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Anyway:
Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps
Like your brain is supposed to do in the first place?
Seriously asking, I didn't see no mention of people who can't naturally do it.
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Anyway:
Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps
Like your brain is supposed to do in the first place?
Seriously asking, I didn't see no mention of people who can't naturally do it.
A) Do you count every single step you take every day? Can you keep track of that number? If you're on a warehouse floor, do you think you'll be able to account for every step you take?
I didn't see no mention of people who can't naturally do it.
B) Do you even English?
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Pacemakers are already vulnerable to EMP and general wireless hacking, because people don't want a USB port installed in their chest and data comms are needed for certain conditions. There's also the battery issue.
If you need something like this then the benefits likely outweigh the risks. You probably wouldn't want any implants if there wasn't some dire medical need, and if you did need them your primary concern would be the manufacturer dropping support after a few years, and maybe the cost if they aren't
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How would you control implants from inside your body? I've heard of the "inner eye" - but inner fingers?
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Neuralink [neuralink.com] says "Hi"
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That ship has sailed, for a myriad of existing implanted devices.
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From a security standpoint, this part set off alarm bells.
People love their wireless bullshit. Even when it makes zero sense and opens security holes that are completely unnecessary. I've been lectured several times for not liking WIFI controlled shifters and brakes on bicycles. Yes, bicycles. Apparently we've crossed the rubicon. Anything for shiny. Who gives a fuck about functionality or security?
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Is it "WiFi" or merely an RF signal? WiFi sounds like massive overkill as it's an extremely complex protocol to do a very simple thing. But then, maybe the developers were of the religion that nothing must be invented even by inventors, so off-the-shelf software and hardware only.
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Is it "WiFi" or merely an RF signal? WiFi sounds like massive overkill as it's an extremely complex protocol to do a very simple thing. But then, maybe the developers were of the religion that nothing must be invented even by inventors, so off-the-shelf software and hardware only.
I never got very deep into it as I'm not interested in electrifying one of my last non-tech hobbies. I have a spedo with a cadence meter and that's as electronic as I care to get. I know they were getting hacked, which gave me a serious case of the giggles, and pretty much proved my point for me.
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Already exists, for various definitions of "control". Pacemakers for example can have their status read from outside the body, which is essentially a response to a command asking for the data.
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Apples and oranges. One does not entail the other.
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Yes, but...
Lab reports should be read with interest, but when they emerge as PR, a high degree of skepticism is appropriate. Some times that just means "it won't happen as quickly as they claim", but frequently the things don't scale. (And sometimes they're just wrong.)
Enough with this crap (Score:1)
Yeah, yeah, new tech blah blah. It isn't a product, it isn't real. It's yet more people trying to get money for vaporware projects.
If they had something real they wouldn't need outside investment. It would be done already.
Re:Enough with this crap (Score:4, Informative)
It isn't a product, it isn't real. It's yet more people trying to get money for vaporware projects.
No, it isn't. It's an academic research paper.
If they had something real they wouldn't need outside investment.
They aren't seeking outside investment.
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One of the issues we have in The West is that it takes too long to take this kind of tech to market. In China you get a paper about it an a year later there are products hitting the market. It dosen't always work out but when it does the speed of development is leaving us behind.
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You: I have developed the greatest creature ever to walk the face of the Earth: The Pink Unicorn. Now that I have developed one, I will develop entire herds to roam The Great Plains in lieu of buffaloes....errr....I just need a bit of start up capital.
Banker: Yes, it is indeed a Pink Unicorn. However, I cannot give you the loan. Even though you have a real product, and I admit is certainly is not vaporware, I cannot approve the loan. Surely you can understand this?
You: But, but, but...a PINK UNICORN!! It is
Pro tip!! (Score:2)
Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps and heartbeat like an Apple Watch
Apple Watch is the ONLY product in existence that can achieve this marval of technomancy! You heard it here first!
Personally, can't wait for implants to become more common. Huge Peter F. Hamilton fan here.
Bonus, not lugging a sodding cellphone around everywhere would be awesome. Although that would be bad news for Apple fanbois... can't point to your implant and brag.....
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"can't point to your implant and brag"
That depends on where the implant is. The ladies may prefer two.
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Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps and heartbeat like an Apple Watch
Apple Watch is the ONLY product in existence that can achieve this marval of technomancy! You heard it here first!
Personally, can't wait for implants to become more common. Huge Peter F. Hamilton fan here.
Bonus, not lugging a sodding cellphone around everywhere would be awesome. Although that would be bad news for Apple fanbois... can't point to your implant and brag.....
Don't worry. Apple implants will shine a glowing apple through your skin to keep the fanboy bragging intact.
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Bonus, not lugging a sodding cellphone around everywhere would be awesome.
From TFS, "... notes that PVDF is biocompatible, making the material a promising candidate for soft implants that could be wirelessly controlled from outside the body."
I think you'll still need to lug around that slab of a phone, or similar, outside your body.
Privacy nightmare (Score:5, Interesting)
"Imagine a thin wristband that monitors your steps and heartbeat like an Apple Watch"
Imagine having to wear this to prevent a hefty insurance premium. Imagine Apple selling this data to insurers without your knowledge. Imagine the government monitoring these wristbands so they can follow you 24/7. Slashdot makes it seems like this will be used for good, but we all know this will be a commercial horror preying on your money and privacy nightmare. No thank you.
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Imagine the manufacturer dropping support after a year or two.
I wear a Xiaomi Mi Band 6. Cost about 20 quid when they had an introductory sale. The battery is still good about 3 years in, but it's so cheap it's probably not worth replacing when it eventually dies. Does heart rate, step counting, and some other stuff I don't use. Battery life is two weeks.
It's hard to see how an implant costing 100x as much minimum, and which is going to be expensive to replace when the time comes, could ever compete with th
Electric microplastic (Score:4, Insightful)
It's the next big thing in ubiquitous pollution!
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PVDF is a perfluoropolymer, so yes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org].
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At least it's programmable!
Great... (Score:3)
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If we're going to be "enjoying" microplastics we might as well put them to work somehow right?
Cellular peptide cake (Score:2)
Cursed With Memory (Score:2)
A weird side effect of growing older and having the ability to recall something from longer ago than five minutes (an apparently rare talent in modern America) means that when I see a story like this, I can effortlessly recall the dozen or so stories similar to this one about how a new, electrically conductive plastic is going to revolutionize technology and usher in implantable and wearable tech. I can also effortlessly realize that such revolutions have always failed to materialize.
This ability then allo
Polyvinylidene fluoride (Score:2)