Printed electronic heaters warm blood bags

Sara Ver-Bruggen - 23 Dec 2011

In Singapore, a collaboration between the fields of medical technology, printing and R&D are developing a flexible heaters that can be applied to warm blood bags.

Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a government-funded research institute, is working with partners Hisaka (Singapore) Pte Ltd and print house Zephyr Silkcreen to apply printed electronics to heat blood bags.

Self heat

Zephyr Silkscreen prints the flexible printed heating stickers, which are stuck onto the blood bag and powered by batteries to heat it up. Hisaka, which supplies several industries such as automation, medical and energy, will market the blood bag warmer.

The concept of the heated blood bag as an application for flexible printed electronics was shown by A*STAR at the World Cities Summit back in 2010. The integrated heating circuits on the blood bags allows the blood inside to be 'self-heated' to match the temperature of the patient's body before a transfusion, reducing the risk of complications that may arise as a result of the transfusion of chilled blood.

SIMTech is a research institute of the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

By leveraging on disruptive manufacturing technology platforms, SIMTech's recently launched Large Area Processing Programme aims to develop more innovative 'Made in Singapore' products with new coating, patterning, embossing web control and web inspection techniques that are not available industrially yet.

In the programme SIMTech is working with Singaporean print and media companies to develop processes for fabricating printed electronics and functional films using inkjet printing, screen and flexographic printing in roll-to-roll manufacturing processes.

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