Scientific experiments showed that sweat secretion could help gain new insights into health status. Using a novel sensor technology, an international research team was able to create inexpensive, wearable electrodes for this purposeusing 3D printers. According to the developers, this allows health values to be measured when sweating, which could enable new ways to diagnose diseases.
What sweat secretion could reveal about your general condition
Innovation in technology design has led to the rapid development of wearable sensors over the past decade. This also includes the sweat sensors. These can assess a person's health by analyzing the chemicals contained in sweat and other health information. Unlike collecting and testing other biofluids such as saliva or blood, the method is non-invasive and requires no assistance. In addition, such biosensors can monitor human biochemical information during training. This includes ion or lactate levels. The latter are indicators of hydration and general physiological and psychological well-being. The data collected can also play a role in assessing various health factors, including stress and diet. Accordingly, the chemical composition and physical information of sweat secretion reflect the state of human health.
Direct sweat absorption from the skin surface is an easy-to-implement, straightforward method that avoids privacy concerns during physical implementation. These features mean that sweat has the potential to become a widely accessible sample type that can be monitored in a non-invasive manner. The model developed by the researchers integrates mechanically flexible electrochemical sensors and wireless communication functions. Typically, sensors can be attached to the skin using a flexible material such as foam, plastic or rubber and ideally powered by wireless chargers. The metabolites in sweat can provide important information that effectively evaluates the wearer's general health. According to the authorsthis studyHowever, further research is needed to verify the correlation between information from sweat and blood. They would do this by using tests with living organisms as validation to advance meaningful biomedical applications.
