Innovative sweat analysis device allows non-invasive health monitoring
Sist anmeldt: 14.06.2024
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Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), together with Professor John A. Rogers from Northwestern University, have announced the development of a sweat monitoring device that does not require physical activity but stimulates sweating by delivering drugs through the skin. Unlike previous methods that required exercise to induce sweat, this device delivers sweat gland-stimulating drugs directly through the skin.
Sweat contains biomarkers that can track a variety of health conditions, from diabetes to genetic diseases. Sweat collection, as opposed to blood sampling, is preferred by users because it is painless. However, previously, intense physical activity was required to obtain sufficient nutrients or hormones from sweat, which was problematic for people with limited mobility.
Development of the device The research team developed a flexible device that can deliver drugs to sweat glands by applying an electric current to a hydrogel containing the drugs. The device, which is small and soft, can be easily attached to the skin. Sweat induced by the drug is collected in micro-fluidic channels inside the device and analyzed for biomarkers using biosensors. This allows biomarkers in sweat to be analyzed, reducing the need for time-consuming hospital visits for testing and reducing the risk of biomarker contamination during testing, thereby improving accuracy.
The device developed by the research team was attached to infants with cystic fibrosis and the concentration of chloride, a biomarker in sweat, was confirmed. The results were comparable to those obtained by traditional methods of analyzing sweat collected in hospitals, with an accuracy of more than 98%. The stability of the device on the skin was also confirmed by measuring skin temperature and pH values. Since cystic fibrosis manifests itself mainly in infancy, continuous monitoring of the disease progression and physical condition is necessary. With this device, monitoring can be easily carried out at home, reducing psychological and physical stress for children and their caregivers.
The new device helps expand non-invasive sweat-based disease monitoring technologies in healthy adults. In addition, the skin drug delivery technology can be used not only to induce sweat, but also to increase the speed of drug delivery in localized areas such as skin diseases or wounds, accelerating their healing.
Dr. Kim Ju-hee from KIST's Bionic Research Center said, "Through two years of joint research with Northwestern University, we have not only solved the problems of existing sweat induction methods, but also achieved success in clinical trials, bringing us one step closer to commercialization."
Professor John A. Rogers added: "We plan to pursue large-scale clinical trials and commercialization, including adults, in the future."
This research was carried out under the major projects of KIST and the Distinguished Young Researcher Program (RS-2023-00211342) supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong-ho). The research results were recently published online in the latest issue of the international journal Biosensors & Bioelectronics (IF 12.6).
The study results were published in ScienceDirect.