Devices that detect gases emitted by your skin could become common.
When you come across the words “wearable tech”, you might think of Fitbits, smartwatches, and wellness trackers. These devices record your activity. They tap into things like your heart rate, sleep, and other bodily functions. By and large, the tracking is done based on movement, temperature, and pulses.
A new type of wearable sensor that monitors your health by detecting gasses released from your skin could take us in a whole new direction, however. Researchers have published a new study on this tech in the journal, PLOS One. Some of the development’s attraction includes the fact that it’s completely non-invasive and the user doesn’t have to do anything for it to happen. The experience is passive.
“Discerning health issues through the skin is really the ultimate frontier,” said the study’s co-author Pelagia-Iren Gouma. Gouma is a professor of materials science and engineering at Ohio State University and leads the Smart Connected Health Project. “We are developing a new generation of skin sensors, and it will really be the new norm,” she said.
The project still has a couple of years until it will be finalized, but Prof. Gouma said she is expecting to have proof of concept within around six months. In about a year, she hopes to begin testing the technology on people.
A device that sits behind your ear or on your nails
Wearable devices that measure chemicals excreted in your sweat already exist. They allow researchers and doctors to measure the salt in your system, as well as your ammonia, glucose, potassium, urea, and lactate. Even heavy metals can be detected. The trouble with sweat sensors, however, is that they can require a lot of sweat just to get one reading.
Dr. Gouma says her technology can potentially measure human biomarkers a lot more easily. These sensors could detect signs of metabolic disorders, diabetes, and conditions such as heart disease.
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The final product will likely be a small device you could wear in a place you don’t sweat much, such as behind your ear, or even on your nails. It also may also become incorporated into our daily lives in ways we can’t yet envision, as technology and medicine become increasingly intertwined.
Operating on small amounts of gaseous acetone released from the surface of your body, the device could open a new frontier for disease detection and treatment.
It isn’t something that’s entirely new
While the technology sounds like a brand new development, measuring disease through bodily gasses is a concept that’s been around for a while. Scientists have been studying concentrations of organic compounds in human breath as an indicator of health for centuries. Hippocrates is said to have checked the odor of a person’s breath as a first analytical health assessment tool back in 400 BC. Breathalyzer tests are yet another example. Dr. Gouma’s tech would be the first to place a common wearable on human skin for this purpose, however.
So, the next time you consider investing in a new wearable for fun, you might find it can do more than you may think. This could be a good thing when it comes to multiple aspects of your health, beyond your resting heart rate and how much sleep you got last night.
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