Belgian Imec and its subsidiary Holst Centre have developed a health patch which tracks physical and cardiac activity while monitoring bioelectrical impedance. The technology is up for licensing.

The health industry has recognized the challenges and solutions, with analysts predicting that the value of the global mobile health market is expected to more than triple in the next few years, from $19.2 billion in 2016 to $58.8 billion by 2020.

The new health patch features more functionalities than any other patch, and does so in a small form-factor. At its heart is a chip that has been optimized for low power consumption. This chip is combined with an electrode patch that can stay on the body for long periods of time, including when showering.

It is the first patch to combine a variety of sensing capabilities – ranging from an accelerometer (to track a person’s physical activity) to ECG tracking (measuring the heart’s electrical activity) and bioelectrical impedance monitoring (measuring body composition, respiratory activity and the distribution of body fluids).

The health patch integrates unique technologies and components from Imec’s industrial partners, including Hitachi Maxell’s batteries optimized for wearables, Shinko Electric Industries’ System in Package (SiP) miniaturization technology and Henkel’s adhesive and ink technology.