The wearable technology is rapidly advancing with the development of health trackers. Just the other day, wearable devices began to enter the market that ranged from smartwatches, to health monitor, t-shirts etc. these devices have all types of capabilities from performing transactions to making payments. The advance has been so rapid that we never had time to evaluate how essential they have become to the human life. The issue is about to become more complicated with the introduction of the sweat patch. Here is more information on the subject.
Sweat Patch
It is a tab like device worn on the body especially on the arms or the back. It is circular in shape and the size is that of a patch. The diameter is around 2.5 cm and therefore, does not invade your privacy issues. In fact, the only indicator that you are wearing the patch is depicted by the changes that occur on the patch in different situations. The main aim of the sweat patch invention was to track the different levels of sweat, but the technology is currently used to measure a person’s hydration and dehydration rates.
How the Sweat Patch works?
When a person sweats, there are normally a few chemical reactions and releases experienced. This is mainly because sweat in itself is full of chemicals that are in excess in the body. The sweat patch works by measuring the compounds within the sweat i.e.
- Human sweat is acidic so the first factor is PH.
- Glucose concentration in the body
- Amount of chloride excreted and present in the body
- Lactate that is present in the sweat
The sweat patch has four different compartments in order to perform these different functions. Each of the compartments has an electrolyte in it in form of a sensor. The sensors are used to detect and offer a change in color for different elements found in the sweat. Any form of chemical reaction that occurs on the skin will result in a color change.
Outcomes
The color changes in every compartment can monitor hydration rates in the body and the level of electrolytes ion the body as well. However, this would be difficult for the common person with no scientific knowledge. That is why and app that accompanies the sweat patch has been developed. The user of the sweat patch is required to take the pictures of the different color changes and uploading them to the app.
The app will offer you sufficient information pertinent to the colors that you have taken. This is inefficiency as many wearable take the data and send it themselves to the smartphones as a result of the synchronized relations or via a network or Bluetooth connectivity.
Testing
The sweat patch was tested and seen to be fully functional even though further developments and changes have to be implemented first before is released to the market. The researchers used cyclists in different environments i.e. some were cycling indoors, and other outdoors in the desert like situations. The different environments depict the different situations that a person is in over different periods of the day. The day obtained is expected to differ and for be people in the same environment; the difference should not be that big. The sweat patch was determined to a good companion as the cyclists never complained of any side effects such as inflammation or irritation where the patch was placed.
Future
The scientists indicate that the human sweat is a good indicator of the proper physiological functioning of the body. By advancing on the technology that the sweat patch uses, it is now possible to use it for a more complex analysis of the body fluids. With the presence of reservoirs as storage facilities for the fluids and the development of a network of different microfluidic channels, it has been made possible. In the near or far future, the sweat patch will have the ability to measure a person’s dehydration rates, diabetes condition and or cystic fibrosis. In addition, it is possible that it can be essential in the medical facilities as a screening tool for different human conditions.
Conclusion
Even though the sweat patches are not fully developed, it is evident that their functionality is one of the most essential factors in the world today. People are looking for ways to remain healthy and if the sweat patch can really do this, then the scientist have just come up with a future invention. The progress made indicate their capability and potential and soon the product will be in the market for you and me to try it on.
