"Sweat" the key to evolve wearable devices? New technology useful for improving accuracy such as momentum measurement

ByKullez

FitbitYaJawboneDevices that measure the wearer's exercise amount are called "fitness band" and "fitness tracker" etc. Many fitness bands can only measure pedometer counts and heart rate, but the devices developed by research teams at Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley have the potential to significantly change that situation .

Fully integrated wearable sensor arrays for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis: Nature: Nature Publishing Group
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v529/n7587/full/nature16521.html

This headband analyzes your sweat to improve your workout | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/27/10840680/sweat-wearable-analysis-real-time-berkeley

The device developed by the research team was published on January 28, 2016 as an international comprehensive science journal "Nature"Was announced. This device can analyze wearer's sweat in real time by making use of multiple components.

Using this technology to analyze human sweat in real time makes it possible to more accurately measure wearer's momentum and muscular fatigue, so it is hard to imagine that it will be very useful for sportsmen. However, she seems to be a very useful terminal for doctors. The reason is that sweat is a metabolite secreted from the body of a human being, it helps to examine the water level in the body besides the degree of muscle fatigue.

This terminal is embedded in a headband etc. It seems to be assumed that information gathered by radio communication is sent to a smartphone etc. The actual development scenery etc. can be seen in the following movie.

This device analyzes your sweat to improve workouts - YouTube


For many people, sweat tends to be considered unnecessary only for "stickiness" and "to show feelings to others".


However, because perspiration contains a lot of information, it is also an indicator of "muscle fatigue" and "moisture level in the body".


However, as the sweat component changes constantly with time, obtaining information from here is very difficult so far.


Developed there, a small device that can analyze sweat components in real time.


The following picture is the device, analyze the sweat component with 5 sensors on the flexible board.


This is the device substrate.


At the left end of the board are sensors for detecting lactate, sodium, glucose, potassium and body temperature.


And space to store these data on the other side of the circuit. The measured data is sent to the smartphone as follows.


Since the device is small, it can also be attached to a headband etc. as follows.


It seems that you are actually wearing the device and measuring the numerical value.


It is said that the numerical value measured with the newly developed device was as accurate as the numerical value indicated by the sweat sensor attached to the stationary training machine.


"The traditional sweat sensor included a patch and it was necessary to peel it off after analyzing - it was not a wearable device," said John, a physicist at the University of Illinois at John Mr. Rogers. Therefore, the devices developed by the research teams of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley are innovative in that they are "wearable" and "capable of providing continuous data".


In addition, it will be possible to measure the degree of muscle fatigue of the wearer with the sweat sensor, so it will become clear what action the body is particularly responsive to at the time of exercise.


In addition, it will be possible to measure hospital-level blood flow and blood pressure with these devices, so human health care will be further evolved, Rogers said.


Fitness bands and smart watches are often equipped with pedometers and heart rate meters. If a sweat sensor is newly installed here, it will be possible to process more data and there will be no doubt that wearable terminals will be more convenient.




In addition, the research team of the device seems to have not found a partner company for commercialization at the present time.