Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Unveiled at CES 2016

Friday, January 8, 2016

Unveiled at CES 2016 - L'Oréal's My UV Patch

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The French cosmetics giant L’Oréal unveiled a fun and clever, peel-and-stick, UV exposure detection patch at CES2016.

The L'Oréal UV detection patch is a small (1 square inch) heart-shaped, stretchable, film-like, UV radiation sensor, the thickness of a half a hair (50 micrometers), that is applied to the skin, and wearable for up to 5 days.

The patch contains photosensitive dyes that change color according to UV exposure. Users then take a picture of the patch with their smartphone where the My UV Patch app reads the shades of UV exposure, in view of providing both feedback and recommendations for sun protection.

Consistent with the low rates of sun protection behavior found in L'Oreal and La Roche-Posay research among 19,000 women in 23 countries (MC10), the My UV Patch system is thus designed primarily to provide feedback on sun exposure in view of assisting users in developing healthy sun-protection behavior.

My UV patches and the Android or IOs-compatible My UV Patch app will be available for free later this year with a purchase of La Roche-Posay skin care products, a company that is part of the Active Cosmetics Division of the L’Oréal Group.

L’Oréal developed the UV patch in the US, partnering with the PCH design firm for engineering, and with the medical biometric health technology firm MC10 Inc. which produces stretchable and film-like electronic circuits for monitoring vitals and treatment biometrics.

MC10 Inc biometric stretchable circuit technology is highly patented (e.g.; US8207473 US9226402, US 20120052268): However, it is unclear which specifications of this biometric stretchable circuit technology are leveraged for the photosensitive dye technology of in the UV sensor patch, available as a freebee later this year.

Below, an image of the whimsical, sun-behavior coaching, heart-shaped patch, with its 16 UV photosensitive dye boxes.