From standard flex circuit technology to printed electronics in a wearable medical device: Printing a Disposable Neuromodulation Earpiece

The use of traditional electronic manufacturing technologies has been long favored in the medical device industry. In light of rising costs due to trade wars as well as unpredictable supply chain issues, we decided to steer away from standard flex circuits and adopt a printed electronics approach to manufacture our disposable earpieces. These earpieces have to adhere to the skin and reliably deliver electrical stimulation pulses for a period of up to 24 hrs. to help people overcome opioid withdrawal symptoms. In order to minimize cost and increase the reliability of our disposable earpiece, we converted our original flex circuit design to a single-sided print and transferred all components to a specially designed double-sided spring-loaded terminal cable connector. We expect an FDA clearance for our printed electronics earpiece before the end of the year.