- The tattoos and graphene are portable biosensors that adhere directly to the skin
- Researchers are now developing patches who can read compounds in sweat
- These could indicate a variety of conditions, as well as detect stress
Invisible sweat sensors one day could be used to detect health conditions. That is according to an ongoing investigation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where a laboratory is developing graphene tattoos that can read and inform about what is in their sweat.
We have heard before laptops have the potential to revolutionize health monitoring. Developed by a team for the first time at the Northwestern University, these leather electronic patches are performed with graphene. Less than a millimeter thick, they are practically invisible and can be flexed with the skin. In the coming years, the idea is that we could use these patches for real -time readings throughout the day.
Until now, the main approach to scientists has been how to use these biosensors to measure heart rate and blood pressure, both key markers of possible health complications. However, the next generation of these patches could obtain data from a different body source: sweat.
Sweating little things
In 2017, researchers from the University of Texas created an even thinner version of a graphene biosensor. One that applied to the skin by wetting a sheet of transfer paper, as well as a temporary tattoo. Using e-tattoos like this, scientists from the University of Massachusetts Amherst now try to take advantage of sweat secrets.
According to Dmitry Kireev, a member of that team, Sweat has certain compounds from the body and skin. The first approach to the equipment is Cortisol, an indicator of stress, risk of stroke and several other disorders.
Monitoring sweat is not a new search. Several laboratories are working on patches that do precisely that. Some change color when certain chemicals are present, while others are attached to large electrochemical sensors. Both require cameras to collect sweat. What makes electronic graphene tattoos so exciting is that they do not, making them much smaller.
In simple terms, graphene itself is used as a transistor. When a certain substance in sweat meets the molecules on the graphene surface, an electrical signal occurs. Through changes in transistor resistance, the amount of that substance is reported.
In the line, the hope is that these electronic graphene tattoos can be used to detect other compounds in sweat, including glucose, lactate and estrogen. These could, in theory, use to indicate possible health problems.
Used as a lifestyle accessory, electronic tattoos could act as early indicators of certain conditions or simply as an additional data source to feed the best physical conditioning applications. In a medical scenario, biosensors could provide real -time data without the need for blood analysis.
Everything is something intelligent, but the portable future is still a path. For now, graphene electronic tattoos must still connect to an electronic circuit with a computer chip, although small, to transmit sweat data. That means that they are not yet the flexible and invisible future of medical care.
To reach that stage, researchers must create completely integrated circuits using graphene, including energy sources and wireless transmitters. This process will probably require some blood and tears, in addition to sweat. Even so, in the next decade, Kireev predicts that we will see electronic tatons with sweat detection incorporated into the best smart watches.
