Scientists have taken the first step to creating the next generation of wearable health monitors. Most research focuses on measuring human biomarkers, but sensors that rely on perspiration often require huge amounts of it just to get a reading. A new study suggests that a wearable sensor may be able to monitor the body’s health by detecting the gases released from a person’s skin.
The final product of the team’s research would be a small device a person could wear on low-sweat body locations, like behind the ear or on the nails. And as more people become familiar with using wearable devices in their everyday lives, the researchers expect technology and medicine to become even more intertwined.
To test whether their sensors could detect varying amounts of these enlightening chemicals (which would signal the presence of the gaseous molecules), the researchers created a film material made of derivatives of plant cellulose and electroactive polymers. This film can bend dramatically in response to how much of the acetone is detected in its environment.
Their findings showed that the films are sensitive enough to track long-term changes in the body. While focusing on a metabolic rate sensor, another possible use would be to track ethanol which, in the body, can spell signs of liver disease. More work needs to be done on how the films used in this study would work as actual sensors worn on the body, the researchers say.