The rich store of information in…human sweat

February 3, 2016 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/sweat-sensor-wristband450.jpg” thumb_width=”200″ /]’Don’t sweat it’ may in future be the wrong thing to say. University of California-Berkeley researchers have developed a prototype sensor array on a band that successfully captures readings of multiple sweat analytes and sends the information to a smartphone app for analysis, making it the first device capable of continuous, non-invasive monitoring of multiple biochemicals in perspiration. The five sensors measure metabolites glucose and lactate, the electrolytes sodium and potassium, and skin temperature, which serves to calibrate the other readings in real time. The device (left), which can be in a wristband or headband form, also contains a flexible printed circuit board that amplifies the sensor signals and sends them to the smartphone app. The Berkeley researchers look forward to commercializing the technology to capture more analyte readings, for athletic performance, medical and fitness tracking usage–and in the longer-term, population-level studies for medical applications. We wonder how long it will be before these show up in a new model Misfit, Jawbone or Fitbit. Berkeley News   Hat tip to former TTA Ireland Editor Toni Bunting

‘All-in-one’ SensoSCAN medical sensor launches at HIMSS CHC

November 25, 2015 | by

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1110151347a.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]And it’s not Scanadu. Scanadu may be the ‘tricorder’ of the future, but telehealth companies are looking for a here-and-now medical monitoring device that can take the place of multiple health monitors and provide clinically accurate readings. This Editor noted Swiss-American company SensoGRAM‘s press release at last year’s mHealth Summit, but this year, in a large booth near the front of the now HIMSS Connected Health Conference expo floor, they were demonstrating production versions of SensoSCAN. The fingertip sensor, similar to a pulse oximeter, measures blood pressure, respiration rate, heart rate, and O2 saturation, plus activity levels and fall detection, and sends the information to your smartphone via app. It is being sold DTC on their website ‘for informational purposes only’ for $349.99. According to chief administrative officer Lisa D’Auria (her hand at left), they are also in clinical trials for FDA 510(k) clearance, hoping to have within less than a year, and are in progress with CE Marking. Unusually, it is manufactured in the US. Release.