Edible Electronic Medical Devices and their Potential Application in the Medical Field

Abstract

Edible electronics presuppose the utilization of food ingredients to build various components of a fully functional sensor that can be consumed orally. The sensors stay inside the body for a particular time either to monitor physiological functions or treat diseases then transmit the information to a connected mobile phone. However, not all food components satisfy the criteria required for constructing a consumable sensor. Therefore, it is essential to thoroughly analyze the components before implementation. The chapter reviews the characteristics of food-based electrical components employed in the fabrication of edible electronics and their consumer acceptance. The authors aspire to deliver an overview of the recent advances and reveal the relationship between food and electronics. The future of edible electronics may be linked to imparting nutrients at the desired site along with improving the bioavailability of the ingested nutrients. This automation has an appreciable potential to completely reshape the research areas in both food and medical sciences in the future.