Sweating can help power smartwatches. Sweat itself contains proteins, which provide information about our general health.
Enter a Californian research team, which has developed a wearable sensor aimed at detecting inflammation.
Inside the device, a graphene layer and gold nanoparticles are embedded with antibodies which react to the protein CRP, a biochemical marker secreted by the liver.
Additional molecules generate electricity as soon as the protein enters the sensor through sweat. The sensor measures the CRP concentration based on the amount of electricity present.
An individual inflammation level is then calculated by taking the sweat’s pH value and the subject’s skin temperature into account.
Urine tests can help detect cancer, and electric, self-dissolving plasters prevent open wounds from becoming inflamed.
