Sweat Patch Monitors Body During Exercise

No, you can’t buy one yet, but a very cool flexible microfluidic device that sticks to your forearm may be the be model for the next generation of fitness bands. A Northwestern University news release reports that researchers at the school have designed an inexpensive, quarter-size patch to analyze key biomarkers to help a person decide quickly if the user needs to drink more water, replenish electrolytes, or even seek medical help. Researchers tested the device on two groups of athletes: one cycling indoors in a fitness center under controlled conditions and the other participating in the El Tour de Tucson, a long-distance bicycle race in arid and complex conditions. During moderate or vigorous exercise, sweat winds through the tiny microscopic channels of the device and into four different small, circular compartments, where reactions with chemical reagents cause color changes that relate to pH and concentrations of glucose, chloride, and lactate. And when a smartphone gets close to the device, the wireless electronics trigger an app that captures a photo of the device and analyzes the image to yield data on the biomarker concentrations. In the group that cycled indoors, the researchers compared the new device’s biomarker readouts to conventional laboratory analysis of the same sweat and found the two sets of results agreed with each other. With the long-distance cyclists, the researchers tested the durability of the device in the complex and unpredictable conditions of the desert. They found the devices stayed adhered to the athletes’ skin, did not leak, and provided the kind of quality information the researchers sought. It’s a win, win.

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