Kirigami – the Japanese art of making paper of different figurines and greeting cards using ordinary scissors. Who would have thought that it will inspire researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of technology for the creation of an adhesive, which seals equally efficiently not only smooth skin, but also moving like elbows and knees, while not otkleivanie from them while driving.
Engineers from MIT have developed an adhesive tape, capable of performing the role of the patch for the moving parts of the body. I think that many of us are faced with the problem, when the plaster was peeling from the broken elbow or knees as soon as we started to bend the arm or leg. Well, the solution was quite simple: just need to be applied to the elastic material (in this case, was used the liquid elastomer) multiple incisions, which significantly increased its capacity for deformation without the risk of peeling from the skin surface.
New plaster can easily withstand hundreds of cycles of stretching and compression, while protecting the skin surface from external influences. The researchers decided not to stop and created on the same principle of a heating pad, powered from a 3 volt battery. Warmer also showed themselves from the best side and held on the surface of the body, not otvalivayas from it and ensuring a constant temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. The developed technology has already been patented and proposed major Chinese medical company. The creators of the patch are sure that it will be available in the near future.
The art of kirigami inspired scientists to create innovative patch
Sergey Grey