(PSFK) — If you’re in the middle of a workout, sweating is usually a great sign. We often take it to mean that the workout is working and see the amount of sweat as proportional to calories burned. A scientific paper proposes that sweat can tell far more than that. It may also be able to quantify a person’s metabolism, electrolyte levels and skin temperature.
The research paper entitled “Fully integrated wearable sensor arrays for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis,” written by 14 authors from the University of California – Berkeley as well as the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Stanford School of Medicine, speaks of flexible strips they have built that continuously test and record data about the composition of sweat.
Unlike previous similar sensors, the researchers tried to create a system that can measure more than one variable in the sweat continuously. The final product is comprised of plastic-based sensors that remain in contact with the skin. These sensors are attached to a flexible circuit board integrated with silicon for on-board complex signal processing.
In the published results, the contraption was able to record three major variable categories in the human sweat. There are the sweat metabolites (such as glucose and lactate) and electrolytes (sodium and potassium ions) as well as skin temperature. The last variable is important as it calibrates the reading of the first two analytes.
Both glucose and lactate in sweat can indicate illnesses such as diabetes and pressure ischemia. Lactate monitoring can also speak to a person’s physical performance since it is expected to spike when the lungs couldn’t keep up with the body’s oxygen consumption. Sweat electrolyte concentrations can be used to find out about a person’s hydration levels.
All of these sensors fit into a single component that can easily slide into a sweat band. Laboratory testing reveals that the test results from the strip are comparable to conventional methods, with the added benefit of continuous testing even when the subject is in motion.
At such a small size and with flexible form, it’s not too hard to imagine the strip being adapted for wearables. Going far beyond pulse rates, this innovation speaks to a future where medical tests are adapted for daily use.
While no word yet on who will develop the prototypes and bring the idea to market, this strip could easily come integrated to smartwatches, shirts or even as temporary tattoos. PSFK has previously reported on LEVL, another future wearable that uses exhaled breath instead to monitor exercise.
This article was written by Leo Lutero from PSFK and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.