• Multi-tasking wearable continuously moni

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Monday, May 09, 2022 22:30:42
    Multi-tasking wearable continuously monitors glucose, alcohol, and
    lactate

    Date:
    May 9, 2022
    Source:
    University of California - San Diego
    Summary:
    Imagine being able to measure your blood sugar levels, know if
    you've had too much to drink, and track your fatigue during a
    workout, all in one small device worn on your skin. Engineers
    developed a prototype of such a wearable that continuously monitors
    several health stats at once.



    FULL STORY ========================================================================== Imagine being able to measure your blood sugar levels, know if you've
    had too much to drink, and track your muscle fatigue during a workout,
    all in one small device worn on your skin. Engineers at the University
    of California San Diego have developed a prototype of such a wearable
    that can continuously monitor several health stats -- glucose, alcohol,
    and lactate levels -- simultaneously in real-time.


    ==========================================================================
    The device is about the size of a stack of six quarters. It is applied
    to the skin through a Velcro-like patch of microscopic needles,
    or microneedles, that are each about one-fifth the width of a human
    hair. Wearing the device is not painful -- the microneedles barely
    penetrate the surface of the skin to sense biomolecules in interstitial
    fluid, which is the fluid surrounding the cells beneath the skin. The
    device can be worn on the upper arm and sends data wirelessly to a custom smartphone app.

    Researchers at the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors describe
    their device in a paper published May 9 in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

    "This is like a complete lab on the skin," said center director Joseph
    Wang, a professor of nanoengineering at UC San Diego and co-corresponding author of the paper. "It is capable of continuously measuring multiple biomarkers at the same time, allowing users to monitor their health and wellness as they perform their daily activities." Most commercial health monitors, such as continuous glucose monitors for patients with diabetes,
    only measure one signal. The problem with that, the researchers said,
    is that it leaves out information that could help people with diabetes,
    for example, manage their disease more effectively. Monitoring alcohol
    levels is useful because drinking alcohol can lower glucose levels.

    Knowing both levels can help people with diabetes prevent their blood
    sugar from dropping too low after having a drink. Combining information
    about lactate, which can be monitored during exercise as a biomarker for
    muscle fatigue, is also useful because physical activity influences the
    body's ability to regulate glucose.

    "With our wearable, people can see the interplay between their glucose
    spikes or dips with their diet, exercise and drinking of alcoholic
    beverages. That could add to their quality of life as well," said Farshad Tehrani, a nanoengineering Ph.D. student in Wang's lab and one of the
    co-first authors of the study.



    ========================================================================== Microneedles merged with electronics The wearable consists of a
    microneedle patch connected to a case of electronics. Different enzymes
    on the tips of the microneedles react with glucose, alcohol and lactate
    in interstitial fluid. These reactions generate small electric currents,
    which are analyzed by electronic sensors and communicated wirelessly to
    an app that the researchers developed. The results are displayed in real
    time on a smartphone.

    An advantage of using microneedles is that they directly sample the interstitial fluid, and research has shown that biochemical levels
    measured in that fluid correlate well with levels in blood.

    "We're starting at a really good place with this technology in terms of clinical validity and relevance," said Patrick Mercier, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego and co-corresponding
    author of the paper. "That lowers the barriers to clinical translation."
    The microneedle patch, which is disposable, can be detached from the
    electronic case for easy replacement. The electronic case, which is
    reusable, houses the battery, electronic sensors, wireless transmitter
    and other electronic components. The device can be recharged on any
    wireless charging pad used for phones and smartwatches.



    ========================================================================== Integrating all these components together into one small, wireless
    wearable was one of the team's biggest challenges. It also required
    some clever design and engineering to combine the reusable electronics,
    which must stay dry, with the microneedle patch, which gets exposed to biological fluid.

    "The beauty of this is that it is a fully integrated system that someone
    can wear without being tethered to benchtop equipment," said Mercier, who
    is also the co-director of the UC San Diego Center for Wearable Sensors.

    Testing The wearable was tested on five volunteers, who wore the device
    on their upper arm, while exercising, eating a meal, and drinking a glass
    of wine. The device was used to continuously monitor the volunteers'
    glucose levels simultaneously with either their alcohol or lactate
    levels. The glucose, alcohol and lactate measurements taken by the device closely matched the measurements taken respectively by a commercial blood glucose monitor, Breathalyzer, and blood lactate measurements performed
    in the lab.

    Next steps Farshad Tehrani and fellow co-first author Hazhir Teymourian,
    who is a former postdoctoral researcher in Wang's lab, co-founded a
    startup company called AquilX to further develop the technology for commercialization. Next steps include testing and improving upon how
    long the microneedle patch can last before being replaced. The company is
    also excited about the possibility of adding more sensors to the device
    to monitor medication levels in patients and other health signals.


    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
    University_of_California_-_San_Diego. Original written by Liezel
    Labios. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Farshad Tehrani, Hazhir Teymourian, Brian Wuerstle, Jonathan
    Kavner, Ravi
    Patel, Allison Furmidge, Reza Aghavali, Hamed Hosseini-Toudeshki,
    Christopher Brown, Fangyu Zhang, Kuldeep Mahato, Zhengxing Li,
    Abbas Barfidokht, Lu Yin, Paul Warren, Nickey Huang, Zina Patel,
    Patrick P.

    Mercier, Joseph Wang. An integrated wearable microneedle array for
    the continuous monitoring of multiple biomarkers in interstitial
    fluid.

    Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41551-022-00887-1 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220509112059.htm

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