• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Engineering Designer Magazine

Engineering Designer

  • Home
  • Technology
  • Education
  • Sustainability
  • Materials
  • Medical
  • Construction
  • Advertise
  • iED
You are here: Home / Medical / Engineers develop 3D-printed wearable sweat sensor

Engineers develop 3D-printed wearable sweat sensor

May 25, 2023 by Geordie Torr

Researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Engineering have developed an innovative 3D-printed wearable sweat sensor. Dubbed the Sweatainer, the sensor is similar in size to a child’s sticker.

Advertisement

‘3D-printing enables an entirely new design mode for wearable sweat sensors by allowing us to create fluidic networks and features with unprecedented complexity,’ said Department of Mechanical Engineering assistant professor Tyler Ray. ‘With the Sweatainer, we are utilising 3D-printing to showcase the vast opportunities this approach enables for accessible, innovative and cost-effective prototyping of advanced wearable sweat devices.’

Sweat holds vital information about our health, providing clues to levels of dehydration, fatigue and blood sugar, as well as serious conditions such as cystic fibrosis, diabetes and heart failure. Traditional approaches for sweat collection use absorbent pads or microbore (very narrow) tubes pressed against the epidermis (surface layer of the skin) using bands or straps to capture sweat as it emerges. These techniques require trained personnel, special handling and costly laboratory equipment. The recent emergence of wearable sweat sensors has addressed some of these challenges, but these devices remain single-use. When the device is full, it must be removed and the sweat collection stopped.

Advertisement

One unique feature of the Sweatainer is its ‘multi-draw’ sweat-collection method, which allows for the collection of multiple, separate sweat samples for analysis either directly on the device or sent to a lab. Inspired by the vacutainer used in clinical blood sampling, this advancement not only makes sweat collection more efficient but also opens up new possibilities for at-home testing, storing samples for future research and integrating with existing health-monitoring methods.

Field studies of the Sweatainer system highlight the real-world potential of this groundbreaking technology. Through the blueprint established in the Sweatainer, the researchers hope that this will continue to drive innovation to create a future where personal health monitoring is more accessible, convenient and insightful.

The research has been published in Sciences Advances.

Filed Under: Medical, Technology

Advertisement

Primary Sidebar

SUBSCRIBE And get a FREE Magazine

Want a FREE magazine each and every month jam-packed with the latest engineering and design news, views and features?

ED Update Magazine

Simply let us know where to send it by entering your name and email below. Immediate access.

Trending

Government funds awarded for design of Thames hydrogen refuelling vessel and refilling station

Loughborough-supported entrepreneur shortlisted for Midlands Women in Tech Awards

Ansys to provide simulation software for F1 in Schools

New interactive tool can assist engineered design of cross-laminated timber systems

Toyota reveals British-built, hydrogen-fuelled Hilux prototype

Strathclyde student team wins award in international marine competition

Reimagining next-generation drivetrain technologies for offshore wind turbines

CALLUM unveils high-spec martini mixer

Researchers from the Universities of Strathclyde and Dundee to help make the health ecosystem greener

New aerospace manufacturing and design facility completed in Gloucestershire

Footer

About Engineering Designer

Engineering Designer is the quarterly journal of the Insitution of Engineering Designers.

It is produced by the IED for our Members and for those who have an interest in engineering and product design, as well as CAD users.

Click here to learn more about the IED.

Other Pages

  • Contact us
  • About us
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms
  • Institution of Engineering Designers

Search

Tags

ied

Copyright © 2023 · Site by Syon Media