Henkel Partners with Covestro and Quad Industries to Develop Advanced Medical Wearables
Henkel, Covestro, and Quad Industries announced a partnership in the field of printed electronics. By joining forces and combining their different areas of expertise, the companies aim to accelerate customer developments for advanced medical wearables and to further drive the adoption of innovative printed electronics solutions, especially for stretchable materials in healthcare applications.
Henkel is an industry-leading supplier of printed electronics materials and services. The broad Loctite portfolio of functional inks includes conductive inks and paints as well as resistive and dielectric inks. These materials combined with four decades of formulation expertise enable the company´s ecosystem partners to develop printed electronics applications tailored to the specific properties demanded by industrial customers – with a growing focus on the medical and healthcare industry.
During MEDICA, Henkel showcased its expertise in the areas of printed sensors for diagnostics and hygiene, medical wearables, medical heaters and antennas for medical wearables. The partnership with Covestro and Quad Industries will be highlighted by the presentation of a patch demonstrator – an ECG pad for continuous patient monitoring of heart activities. Henkel and Covestro have developed the materials for this advanced wearable while Quad Industries is responsible for the customized design and manufacturing.
“At Henkel, we strongly believe in the value of close collaborations and a broad and diverse ecosystem of partners to further unlock the enormous potential of printed electronics across industries,” explained Pia Schmiedel, Business Development Manager Printed Electronics at Henkel. “The partnership with Quad Industries and Covestro offers enormous potentials to accelerate and drive cutting-edge solutions for the fast-growing demand of advanced medical wearables such as stretchable materials enabled by printed electronics. With our presence at this year’s MEDICA trade show and the joint presentations with our partners we demonstrate our strong commitment to support the medical and healthcare industry in this transformation.”
Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. The company supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself. The company has developed high-performing Platilon® TPU films that enable the next generation of printed electronics for healthcare devices. These substrates are explicitly designed for high printing quality, processability, and mechanical strength. Covestro substrates facilitate easier printing, curing, and converting processes for printed electronics while providing skin-friendly, soft, and breathable features.
“Strong partnerships with suppliers and printing partners across the value chain are instrumental to develop customized solutions for printed electronics,” said Karine Benbelaid, Global Segment Head Medical – Specialty Films at Covestro. “We have tested and optimized our medical-grade Platilon® TPU substrates with Henkel's Loctite conductive inks, and Quad Industries brings the capabilities to move this ideal material combination into efficient production. The combined expertise and resources of all three helps accelerating the development phase and prototyping for faster innovation cycles and shorter time-to-market for valuable solution in healthcare device innovation.”
Quad Industries is a pioneering technology company, specializing in the development and manufacturing of printed electronics. With a strong focus on innovation and customer collaboration, Quad Industries leverages its expertise to create cutting-edge products for various industries, including healthcare, automotive, consumer and industrial electronics. With its commitment to quality and sustainability the company is an ideal integration partner for innovative printed electronics applications.
“We are thrilled to partner with two leading material specialists such as Henkel and Covestro and combining their advanced materials for designing and manufacturing a wearable patch demonstrator,” said Arne Casteleyn, Managing Director Sales and Strategy at Quad Industries. “We use our expertise in printing and converting to seamlessly integrate these materials into advanced smart patches, which is crucial to transforming raw materials into a solution that effectively demonstrates the potential of wearable healthcare technology. By showcasing these potentials at MEDICA, we aim to inspire potential customers and open new conversations around printed electronics innovations in across the healthcare market.”
Source: Henkel and Covestro