Wearable sensors can monitor your sweat in real-time

Engineers at a US university have developed wearable sensors that can monitor your sweat in real-time, providing meaningful information about your state of health.

"Human sweat contains physiologically rich information, thus making it an attractive body fluid for non-invasive wearable sensors," said study principal investigator Ali Javey, a University of California-Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences.

The flexible sensor system can measure metabolites and electrolytes in sweat, calibrate the data based upon skin temperature and sync the results in real time to a smartphone.

"We have developed a fully integrated system that simultaneously and selectively measures multiple sweat analytes, and wirelessly transmits the processed data to a smartphone. Our work presents a technology platform for sweat-based health monitors," Javey added.

Javey worked with study co-lead authors Wei Gao and Sam Emaminejad, both of whom are postdoctoral fellows in his lab.

The team then consulted exercise physiologist George Brooks, a University of California-Berkeley professor of integrative biology.

"Having a wearable sweat sensor is really incredible because the metabolites and electrolytes measured by the Javey device are vitally important for the health and well-being of an individual," Brooks said.

"When studying the effects of exercise on human physiology, we typically take blood samples. With this non-invasive technology, someday it may be possible to know what's going on physiologically without needle sticks or attaching little, disposable cups on you," he added.

The device is described in a paper published online on January 27 in Nature.