Stretchable Batteries for Wearable Patches

Wearable smart patches are a branch of medical technology that diagnoses vital patient parameters, and monitors them in real time. Many of these devices require integrated micro-power sources to drive their electronic systems. A team of scientists developed prototype stretchable batteries that do more than flex, they have elastic properties too.

Stretchable Batteries Gaining Momentum in Electronics

The IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers believes that interest in stretchable patches is gaining momentum. Some day, they speculate, these could have batteries storing energy for fitness trackers, wearable electronics, and even smart clothing.

However, a team of scientists from France and Kazakhstan decided to move the clock forward, and propose these stretchable batteries now. Well, at least a prototype that demonstrates how these could work in principle. This could open a door ‘to migrating electronic devices closer to human skin’.

“For many applications, such as wearables, stretchability is necessary since our skin stretches as we move. A battery that only flexes would feel uncomfortable to wear,” explains James Pikul, a professor of mechanical engineering at University of Wisconsin–Madison.

A Battery That Stretches Is Like a Rubber Band

A new generation of flexible, stretchable batteries should be able to withstand axial tension forces, according to IEEE Institute. It explains how these longitudinal pressures on a body include tension and compression that ‘stretch elastically’, as they apply. An ‘elastic battery’ would need to respond similarly in sympathy.

The team from France and Kazakhstan applied unidirectional helix winding principles to assemble their stretchable coaxial wire battery prototype. They proved this was capable of delivering high energy storage capacity, while being highly flexible, stretchable, and suitable for textiles. Could medical patches be next?