Custom Metal Parts Enhance Health

Empowering a Biomedical Wearable for a Well-Respected University.

The Challenge:

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Physics at a well-respected university was designing a new epidermal electronic device to collect biomedical data—with the goal of gaining FDA approval.

To maximize contact with the skin, the ground plane had to be as thin and flexible as possible. The project manager contacted Switzer to manufacture the device’s antenna that creates a conductive, electromagnetic field with features that were the same material thickness as the substrate of .003 in.

The Response:

Fabricating the intricate, flexible antenna was certainly a unique challenge, but here at Switzer, we were excited to come up with a solution. Using photochemical etching, the first run of the antenna was successfully produced to specifications, but removing the etched copper from the substrate proved difficult. The Switzer team worked with the university to modify the second run, etching directly on the .003 in. copper with adherence—and the results improved significantly.