Key Insight 

Biointerfaces act as intermediaries between a biomaterial (cells, organs, muscles, or entire bodies) and technologies.

What You Need To Know

New techniques developed in the past few years are leading to breakthroughs in research on biointerfaces, which range from microscopic ingestible robots to “tattoos” that function as medical sensors.

Why It Matters

New kinds of skin-based interfaces and ingestible devices could be a key to humans living longer, healthier lives.

The Impact

These technologies have the potential to greatly reduce the complexity and intrusiveness of administering medicine and tracking biometrics, increasing quality of life and enabling more detailed insight into one’s health and wellness.

Watchlist for section

Apple, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Center for Humane Technology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Common Sense, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Tufts University, Duke University’s Center for Neuroengineering, Elon Musk, Facebook, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Google, Google’s Soli, Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute for Basic Science, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Academy of Science, Neuralink, Northwestern University, Penn State University, Seoul National University, Stanford University, StarLab, Tufts University, Gemelli University Hospital, University of California-Berkeley’s School of Information, University of California at San Diego, University of Chicago, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, University of Tokyo, University of Washington’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering. 

More Trends in this Section

• Nanomesh Temporary Tattoos
• Dissolving Bioelectronics
• Programmable, Ingestible, and Implantable Microbots
• Smart Threads
• Skinput