Though our phones and watches have grown to become smarter, more durable and versatile, the limitations of these devices, particularly for medical and accessibility functions, is limited by its power. Quite literally; essentially any wearable medical or health measurement device is powered by a battery of some sort, a problem scientists have been trying to solve with smaller, more efficient power devices - like photovoltaics, which are non mechanical solar devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity.
Now, in work published in Nature Communications, a group of scientists have figured out how to make photovoltaics waterproof without adding additional layers to envelop the small films (designed to attach to clothing to monitor medical devices without charging), allowing their ultrathin (3 micrometers, to be exact) organic solar cells to be bendable, soakable - and even washable, vastly improving their durability in a wide range of critical medical applications. We may be a few years away from the first Apple iShirt, but with the new innovations discovered in the production process,, the future of more accurate monitoring and power delivery of delicate medical devices is brighter than ever.
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