Northwestern University's wearable can measure gases from your skin without touching it.
Summary This wearable skin sensor can non-invasively track skin health by analyzing gases absorbed and released. The device analyzes water vapor, CO2, VOCs, skin temperature, detecting infections, wounds, and hydration levels. It enables remote monitoring of patients' skin health, including wound healing, without physical interaction. Your smartwatch is capable of measuring the heart rate, taking an electrocardiogram reading, and even gauging blood pressure. What it can't do is measure the health status of your skin or track the progress of wound healing. Now, a next-gen non-contact wearable device is promising to do just that, and then some more. A New Breed of Wearable Devices Over the past few years, wearable devices have exploded in popularity and adopted different form factors. From smartwatches and fitness bands to smart rings, the mainstream adoption has spurred some impressive developments. However, inherent challenges with the underlying light-based sensor have somewhat slowed down the pace of innovation. Skin-based patches and microfluidics technology, on the other hand, have shown a lot of promise. The latest such development comes courtesy of researchers at Northwestern University, where a team has created what they claim to be the first wearable device that can analyze the gases absorbed and released by the human skin. The device broadly analyzes water vapor, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and can measure skin temperature levels, as well. The underlying idea is that the interaction of skin with different kinds of chemicals creates a unique gaseous climate around the surface. The non-invasive wearable contains a chamber where these gases move in and change the native climate in this chamber. The sensors fitted inside the 3D-printed wearable device measure the changes happening inside the chamber, allowing experts to study skin health. A crucial advantage of this sensor is that it allows for non-contact analysis of the…