LOPEC presents innovations in printed electronics for the medical industry in Munich

Regner® Editorial Team

Aiguaviva -

24/03/2022

Printed electronics is changing production systems. This was evident at LOPEC, which took place from March 22-24, 2022 in Munich at the ICM – Internationales Congress Center München. A total of 156 exhibitors from 23 countries and around 2,000 visitors from more than 35 countries visited the Bavarian capital for this international exhibition and conference on flexible, organic and printed electronics.

LOPEC, the acronym for Large-area, Organic Printed Electronics Convention, is the most important event for printed electronics worldwide. It covers all facets of this technology covering the entire value chain, from research and development to the exposure of specific applications. As a cross-cutting event, it reflects current trends, presenting innovative products, market opportunities for the industry, as well as manufacturing processes, application areas and services.

Printed electronics allows the printing of electronic and photonic devices by means of graphic arts techniques with the particularity that conductive, insulating or semiconducting inks are used.

The development of processes using these techniques is making it possible to print electronic components present in conventional circuits, as well as photovoltaic cells, batteries and sensors on a wide variety of substrates, such as paper, plastics and textiles.

The most important benefit of printing is low-cost volume manufacturing. Once the design is available, it is simply a matter of mass printing on the chosen substrate, reducing manufacturing time and costs. Printed materials are generally very thin, lightweight, flexible and can be integrated into printed product production lines.

Organic electronics for devices that help patients and physicians alike

Printed or organic electronics is based on a combination of new materials, cost savings and massive production processes that open up a new field of applications, with healthcare being one of the most promising.

Within the medical sector there is a growing need for real-time monitoring of outpatients. Both patients and medical professionals want smaller and less expensive products. In order to meet these objectives, manufacturers are turning to solutions that can offer more cost-effective manufacturing, and printed electronics technology is central to this endeavor.

In addition, the fact that it can be printed on textiles is one of the most attractive properties for this sector. Currently, a distinction is made between three classes of products. Passive smart functional textiles, which make up the first of these classes, are limited to the mere collection of patient data via sensors. Active smart functional textiles are one level above that. Using an integrated actuator functionality, they can react with certain actions to the data and information detected by the sensor. So-called ultra-intelligent functional textiles go one step further: they can automatically adapt their behavior or characteristics to changing circumstances. In other words, printed electronics techniques on textiles are already offering viable solutions for the design of therapeutic devices.

At REGNER® we continue our research to improve people's lives.

At REGNER^®people are the focus. We research and develop products and solutions that improve people’s lives, from mini actuators for dosing systems, spectrometers and freeze drying equipment to motion control systems for medical technology.

RD projects are a crucial aspect of our business. We feel comfortable working on electronic systems and sensors. We are convinced of the advantages of printed sensor electronics for the design of devices to monitor and improve people’s health.

We are currently involved in an international project for the design of new dosing systems for therapeutic drugs. The main objective of REGNER^® in this project is to design the electronic system in a miniaturized portable device that will perform the acquisition and processing of the signals from the different sensors for their subsequent sending and analysis to an e-Health platform.

In this way, REGNER^® continues its expansion in the medical technology sector to bring innovative analytical and diagnostic equipment to the market.