SFU研究：從汗水能看出你的健康度 | What your sweat says about your health: SFU research

SFU研究：從汗水能看出你的健康度

根據西蒙菲莎大學(SFU, Simon Fraser University)正在開發的新傳感技術，運動出汗可能是你今年的新目標，但其實它也能幫助於你更了解你的健康狀態。

SFU 研究團隊正在開發一種低成本的 3D 打印可穿戴汗液傳感器。該研究正在 SFU 的增材製造實驗室與浙江大學的研究人員合作進行。該團隊最近在《Bio-Design and Manufacturing》雜誌上發表了對汗水傳感器進展的全面評論。

研究員 Woo Soo Kim 是此國際研究項目團隊的成員之一。Kim 表示，在過去十年中，技術設計的創新見證了可穿戴傳感器(包括汗液傳感器)的快速發展。這些可穿戴傳感器可以通過分析汗液中的化學物質和其他健康信息來評估個人的健康狀況。

與收集和測試唾液或血液等其他生物流體不同，該方法是非侵入性的，這些汗液傳感器可以監測運動過程中的人體生化信息，包括細胞離子或乳酸平衡等等，這些信息可以作為水合作用和整體生理和心理健康的指標。收集的數據還可以在評估各種健康因素方面發揮作用，包括壓力和營養。

「從汗液中提取的化學成分和物理信息在反映人類健康狀況方面具有重要價值」Kim 說。 「從皮膚表面直接收集汗液是一種易於執行，並且最直接的方法，可以避免物理實施中的隱私問題。這些特徵意味著汗水有可能成為一種可廣泛獲取的樣本類型，可以以非侵入性方式進行監測。」

雖然越來越多的低成本穿戴傳感器可以收集和分析汗液以評估一個人的健康狀況，但 Kim 的 3D 打印模型集成了機械靈活的電化學傳感器和無線通信功能。

通常，傳感器可以使用柔性材料（例如泡沫、織物、柔性塑料或橡膠）附著在皮膚上，理想情況下，可以由無線充電器供電。

Kim 再指出，汗液代謝物可以提供重要信息，可有效用於評估佩戴者的整體健康狀況。然而，他警告說，需要進一步的研究來驗證汗液和血液信息之間的相關性，使用體內驗證測試來推進有意義的生物醫學應用。

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What your sweat says about your health: SFU research

Sweating it out through exercise may be a New Year’s resolution but it could also help to provide new insights into the state of your health, according to new sensing technology being developed at Simon Fraser University.

SFU researcher Woo Soo Kim is part of an international research team that is developing a low-cost, 3D-printed wearable sweat sensor. The research is being carried out in SFU’s Additive Manufacturing Lab in collaboration with researchers from Zhejiang University. The team recently published a sweeping review of sweat sensor advances in the journal Bio-Design and Manufacturing.

According to Kim, innovation in technology design over the past decade has seen the rapid development of wearable sensors—including sweat sensors. These wearable sensors can assess an individual’s health by analyzing the chemicals and other health information contained in sweat. 

Unlike collecting and testing other biofluids such as saliva or blood, the method is non-invasive and does not require assistance. These sweat sensors can monitor human biochemical information during exercise, including ions or lactate levels, which can serve as indicators of hydration and overall physiological and psychological wellness. The data collected can also play a role in assessing various health factors, including stress and nutrition.

“The chemical composition and physical information derived from sweat are of great value in terms of how it reflects human health status,” says Kim. “Direct sweat collection from the skin surface is an easy-to-perform, straightforward method that avoids privacy concerns in physical implementation. These features mean that sweat has the potential to become a widely accessible sample type that can be monitored in a non-invasive manner.”

While there is a growing range of low-cost wearable sensors that can collect and analyze sweat to assess a person’s health, Kim’s 3D printable model integrates mechanically flexible electro-chemical sensors and wireless communication functions. 

Typically, sensors can be attached to the skin using a flexible material such as foam, fabric, flexible plastics or rubber and ideally, be powered by wireless chargers.

Sweat metabolites can provide important information that can effectively be used to evaluate the wearer’s overall health condition, notes Kim. However, he cautions that further research is needed to verify the correlation between information from sweat and blood, using in-vivo validation tests to advance meaningful bio-medical applications.  

Original Article: EurekAlert