Sweat contains biomarkers that can monitor various health conditions, from diabetes to genetic disorders. Sweat sampling, unlike blood collection, is preferred by users due to its painless nature. However, to obtain sufficient nutrients or hormones from sweat for testing, intense physical activity was previously required to induce sweat.
This method posed challenges for individuals with limited mobility. Dr. Kim Joohee from the Bionics Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, Director Oh Sangrok) and Professor John A.
Rogers from Northwestern University jointly announced the development of a convenient sweat monitoring device that does not require physical activity but delivers drug stimulation through the skin. Unlike previous methods that induced sweat through exercise, this device delivers drugs that stimulate sweat glands through the skin. The research team developed a flexible device capable of delivering drugs to sweat glands by applying a current to a hydrogel containing drugs.
This device, which is small and soft, can be easily attached to the skin. Sweat induced by the drug is collected in microfluidic channels within the device and analyzed for biomarkers using biosensors. This enables the analysis of biomarkers in sweat, reducing the need for cumbersome hospital visits for testing and lowering the risk of biomarker contamination during testing, thereby increasing accuracy.
The device developed by the research team was attached to infa.
