STMicroelectronics and Bluechiip to Cooperate in Manufacturing of Unique MEMS-Based Tracking Tags
In March 2009, TIME Magazine highlighted biobanking as one of ‘10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now’. The growth of biobanks worldwide has been exponential; recent studies estimate that hundreds of millions of tissue samples are stored in U.S. biobanks and greater than one billion are stored worldwide. In a recent report by Visiongain titled ‘Biobanking for Medical R&D: Technology and Market 2010-2025’, the market for biobanking (sales of biobank resources or services) in 2009 was estimated to be worth $8B and is expected to reach $45B by 2025.
These unique tags will first be molded into test tubes and vials for the expanding biobank market to identify, track, retrieve, monitor and store valuable and irreplaceable human biospecimens, including tissue, embryos and cord blood in liquid nitrogen. Although the Bluechiip tracking technology has initial applications in the healthcare industry, it also has applications in pathology, clinical trials, biorepositories and forensics. Other key markets for the technology could include security, defense, industrial, manufacturing, waste, aerospace and aviation.
”ST’s extensive experience in MEMS technologies and its solid manufacturing capabilities make it the perfect partner to Bluechiip in industrializing its innovative tracking tag,” said Brett Schwarz, Managing Director and CEO, Bluechiip. “The tag will revolutionize tracking of critical assets in a broad range of important markets.”
“Bluechiip’s tag technology coupled with ST’s MEMS design and manufacturing expertise will make available an extremely robust and valuable tracking capability for many applications in healthcare and other markets,” said Benedetto Vigna, Group Vice President and General Manager, MEMS, Sensor and High-Performance Analog Division, STMicroelectronics. “ST has a long history in the industrialization of innovative technologies and applications, and this cooperation with Bluechiip will further extend ST’s expertise in biosensors, while also complementing and reinforcing its leadership in MEMS overall.”
This new technology enables data to be read at temperatures as low as those reached in liquid nitrogen, approximately –196 degrees Celsius, and as high as 200 degrees Celsius. Data can also be transmitted through frost. Bluechiip’s tracking solution has also been field-proven to survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting.
The new technology is based on MEMS-based resonators within a tiny and purely mechanical chip, containing no electronics whatsoever. The tracking tag, which comprises this mechanical chip and an antenna, can either be embedded or manufactured into a storage product, such as a vial or a bag. Easy identification, along with any associated information from the tag can be detected by a reader, which can also log the temperature history of the tagged items.
ST마이크로일렉트로닉스 개요
ST마이크로일렉트로닉스는 혁신적인 반도체 솔루션을 다양한 전자 애플리케이션 분야의 고객들에게 제공하고 있는 세계적인 선도업체이다. ST는 자사의 방대한 기술, 설계 전문기술 및 IP 포트폴리오 통합, 전략적 협력업체와 강력한 제조시설 등을 활용하여 멀티미디어 컨버전스 및 전력 애플리케이션 분야에서 명실상부한 선도업체가 되는 것을 목표로 하고 있다. ST의 2010년도 매출은 103억 5,000만 달러이다. ST에 대한 보다 상세한 정보는 www.st.com를 참조하라.
웹사이트: http://www.st.com
연락처
STMicroelectronics
Michael Markowitz
Director of Technical Media Relations, STMicroelectronics
+1 7815910354
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Bluechiip
Brett Schwarz
Managing Director, Bluechiip Limited
Ph: +61419 367 590
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2012년 1월 26일 13:19