Stretchy silicon sticker monitors your heartbeat

Putting on a heart monitor could one day be as easy as slapping on a temporary tattoo. A bioengineering team from South Korea lay out their design of a wearable, stretchable array that can monitor and store heart rate data January 1 in Science Advances.

The team used gold nanoparticles and stretchy silicon circuits to power teeny tiny electrocardiogram sensors that record and monitor a patient’s heart rate. The whole ultrathin device attaches to the skin like a sticker or a temporary tattoo and performed well during exercise stress tests on people.

The flexible heart rate monitor represents a trend in wearable technology that can withstand the stretch and strain of human body movement.