Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Experts from the University of Cincinnati and the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio are joining forces to develop a lightweight, wearable
The new gadget uses sensors that are as light and flexible as an adhesive bandage and capable of gathering vital medical information in almost real time. The technology is similar to that used by home pregnancy tests, collecting electrolytes, metabolites, proteins, small molecules, amino acids and other biomarkers that are carried with sweat, the researchers explained.
“With that kind of information, athletes could avoid the killer cramps that could cause them to be carried off the field at the peak of their game or competition,” the university said. “Preemies’ vitals could be monitored without drawing blood – the pain and blood loss causing even more stress on a physically-stressed infant. One day, diabetics could maybe even avoid those painful sticks as well, as they check their glucose levels.”
Jason Heikenfeld, a UC professor of electrical engineering and computing systems and a member of a team working on the device, explained in the latest issue of IEEE Spectrum Magazine that the ultimate goal is to use sweat as an alternative for being punctured for a blood test or providing a urine sample for diagnostic tests, and to figure out if perspiration could provide constant updates about how a person’s body is responding to a specific drug or injury.
Image Above: The next generation of sweat sensor pad and flexible Bluetooth circuit. Credit: UC/USAF
“Sweat contains a trove of medical information and can provide it in almost real time,” Heikenfeld said. “Researchers have understood the richness of the information carried in sweat for some 50 years, but they have been unable to take advantage of it because of the difficulty of collecting, transporting, and analyzing the samples.”
“With the many recent advances in sensing, computing, and wearable technology providing inspiration – and with more than a little perspiration in the laboratory – we are on the verge of a true revolution in wearable diagnostics,” he added. “Ultimately, sweat analysis will offer minute-by-minute insight into what is happening in the body, with on-demand sampling in a manner that is convenient and unobtrusive.”
The joint UC/USAF team initially started work on the device five years ago as part of a search for an easy-to-use and convenient method to monitor how an airman responds to disease, medication, diet, injury, stress and other physical changes during both training and missions. During their research, they developed patches that stimulate perspiration, then measured and transmitted health-related information based on those sweat samples.
He explained that paper in the patch wicks sweat in a tree-root pattern in order to maximize the amount of perspiration collected while minimizing the volume of paper required. It comes with a built-in sodium sensor, voltage meter, communications antenna, as well as microfluidics and a controller chip externally powered by the smartphone.
“Right now our industry partners are preparing to use standard flexible-electronic manufacturing processes to produce several hundred patches for more extensive human trials, which are expected to start before the end of the year,” Heikenfeld wrote. “We’re also adding about a half dozen other sensors that will detect additional ions besides sodium and chloride and use them to predict things like exertion level and muscle injury or damage.”
He noted that the initial results “look promising” and that pilot program testing on college athletes could begin as early as next year. If that does well, he said that if those trials go well, “it’s not a far stretch to imagine using the patch” in conjunction with radio frequency identification (RFID) reading mats currently used to record marathoners’ split times to also identify runners who might be at risk of a potentially-dangerous electrolyte imbalance.
“If all goes well, we could have sweat-sensing patches – at least sensors for athletics – on the market in low volume next year. These do not have to go through a lengthy approval process with the US Food and Drug Administration because they are not meant to be used for diagnosis or treatment of disease,” Heikenfeld said, adding that a second-generation patch that includes Bluetooth
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