There are several disadvantages of drawing up blood for analysis. One of them would be that they are costly; that is taking into account the salary of the properly trained medical technicians, the equipment they use, and the time they dedicate to doing the analysis.
This is one of the reasons why researchers at the University of California Berkeley came up with sensors that stick on the skin and help monitor health during exercise and identify compounds in sweat. The initial goal of the research team was to use their sensors in the diagnosis and monitoring of diabetes, which they later found out was not possible.
But the research was not a failure at all. The sensors would be able to provide real-time measurements of analytes in a person's sweat, as the researchers report in Science Advances. Lead researcher and University of California professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Ali Javey describe the process as "decoding" one's sweat composition.
Research team member and graduate student for materials science and engineering Hnin Yin Yin Nyein explained how the process was done before. "Traditionally what people have done is they would collect sweat from the body for a certain amount of time and then analyze it," she said. "So you couldn't really see the dynamic changes very well with good resolution. Using these wearable devices we can now continuously collect data from different parts of the body, for example to understand how the local sweat loss can estimate whole-body fluid loss."
In an experiment, sensors were placed on different parts of the body such as the forehead, underarms, forearms, and back. The sensors contain very fine tubes that draw sweat from the skin and directs it to a series of sensors that would detect the presence of glucose, potassium ions, and sodium ions. The production process was very simple as well. They were printed in rolls that were disposable after use.
Researchers were looking at a potential application of the sensors as determining how hard people can push themselves during exercise without putting a strain on their bodies. And although their initial goal of detecting diabetes was not met, team member Mallika Bariya says that other researchers who wish to use their technology in the future can be inspired to push on this application. "This negative result is still useful," she said, "as it will help future researchers concentrate on more fruitful studies."
