A sweat sensor to monitor your health

My name is Ali Javey. I’m a Professor of Electrical Engineering in Computer Sciences here at Berkeley. The big flavor of our
research is bridging chemistry with electrical engineering. The goal of this project was to develop a wearable technology that we could use to get some accurate and meaningful information about the physiological
state of an individual. “Push” Sweat provides us with a wealth of information
about our body condition. It consists of a wide
spectrum of different chemicals. How do we get accurate information, useful about the body and health,
and mental conditions, by analyzing sweat? We have developed this array of sensors that can detect and
analyze multiple different chemicals simultaneously in real-time, -” and your glucose
level is also normal” – and at the same time, we
have developed the computation that goes along with it. – “Microprocessor.” – There is the flexible printed electronic component. This is where we have
the sensors to detect the different chemicals in sweat. And there’s a second
component and that’s where we can process the information,
we can analyze data, and we can also transmit
the signal to a wireless, for example, wireless cellphone.

Sweat is very complex,
so we decided to target four different chemicals: Sodium, Potassium, Glucose, and Lactate. By looking at the concentration
of some of the electrolytes like sodium and potassium,
you can get information about dehydration. By looking at lactate, you
can get information about muscle fatigue. So as your skin temperature changes, the output of the sensor changes. As part of this electronic
board, we do have a processor chip, effectively a computer, that can simultaneously correct for this temperature change. – “The board is working now, ” – So once we designed and
fabricated, and built our sensor, the question of course was
what information can be obtained and how accurate it is. So we started trying to
find collaborators on-campus or off-campus. Just one day in my office, I was Googling “Exercise Physiology at Berkeley,” and just like that the
first hit that I get is “Exercise Physiology Lab at
Berkeley led by George Brooks.” – It was really exciting to see somebody on campus taking an idea and measuring important metabolites in body fluid, in real-time, in a transportable, miniaturized way.

It’s just fantastic. What we did was to have people exercise at different times, at
different intensities, and under different conditions,
and we were able to show how well the device worked. A medical technician could
get a reading on somebody instantaneously and then follow that, instead of taking a blood sample and then sending that to a laboratory
and waiting several hours for a result. It’s the beginning of I
think a great new realm in bio-sensing. Not only for personal
use but for astronauts, people who need to be monitored, for this or that condition, in real-time. – “So all the values are
within the normal range?” – “Yes.” – I’m very excited about this work.

This technology can be
used in the future as a way of getting useful information
about health in real-time, and it’s all done using
a platform that is just on the back of the watch.

For years, you were taught that “dieting”
and busting your butt at the gym several
times per week were the only REAL ways
to get fit. Well, there is scientific evidence that suggests
that suggests continuous strenuous exercise
can cause inflammation in your muscles, which
can slow down the process of shedding
those difficult to lose pounds. If you have a few minutes, watch this controversial video that reveals how you only truly need a few
minutes per day to lose weight.

from LeRoy∅c∅!