Swiss sensor analyses biomarkers in sweat to provide clues about health

Researchers in Switzerland have developed a tiny, portable sensor system that can encapsulate and analyse biomarkers in sweat, an advance that could help provide insights into a person’s health.

The miniature chip was developed by researchers at EPFL’s Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory (Nanolab), headed by Prof Adrian Ionescu, working in association with Xsensio, a start-up specialising in so-called lab-on-skin technology for next-generation wearables.

Their system, which can be placed directly on a person’s skin or integrated into a bracelet, can determine variables such as levels of sodium and potassium in sweat, body temperature and pH. The data can then be sent to a smartphone.

The system uses capillary action to draw minuscule amounts of sweat into the heart of the chip, where it is analysed. The chip contains four silicon sensors that are around 20nm thick, making them extremely sensitive. Each sensor is coated with a different material so that they can each detect different biomarkers.