If you’re just tracking macros, you’re missing out big time on your body’s biochemistry. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have created a smart wearable ring that tracks glucose, ketones, vitamin C, uric acid, lactate, and alcohol. It can simultaneously monitor up to four different such biomarkers, non-stop, just from finger sweat.
Sweat “Ring” a Ring
UC San Diego engineers in the lab of Joseph Wang, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, report that the outcome suggests that they have developed the first fully integrated smart ring for daily biochemical monitoring. Tracking multiple biomarkers in a single setup can make healthy living easier, including improved diabetes management and nutrition tracking.
Study’s first author, Tamoghna Saha, a postdoctoral researcher in Wang’s lab, believes that commercial rings only provide biophysical information, but the underlying molecular information that biomarkers offer is overlooked. The ring detects biomarkers in sweat and gives better insight into an individual’s health status. It is also very convenient for people accustomed to varying lifestyles, as no exercise or exertion is required; sweat is passively drawn up through the skin’s surface via osmosis.
Monitoring Diabetes Gets Easier
“A ring capturing dynamic molecular information in real time would be extremely useful for making informed decisions regarding health, diet and lifestyle,” Wang said. “For example, the ring’s ability to track both glucose and ketone continuously and simultaneously would greatly benefit optimal insulin dosing for the management of diabetes.”
Diabetics often suffer from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which amounts to over 500,000 hospital visits and often requires the patient to be put in intensive care. During DKA, the body breaks down fat, and acid builds up in the bloodstream. Regular glucose monitoring becomes essential in these cases, often hourly. A continuous glucose monitor, like this smart ring, can make the situation smoother for all sides.
In trials with healthy volunteers and people with type 1 diabetes, the ring closely tracked glucose and ketone from the sweat. The results closely matched those from commercial continuous glucose monitors and blood meters for ketone readings.
How does the Ring Gather Sweat
The sweat samples are collected by a technique developed by Saha himself. The process Saha originally developed used a hydrogel, a soft polymer, that sampled sweat via osmosis. The material creates a pressure difference that pulls fluid from the skin painlessly.
Paper-based microfluidics transports sweat into an electrochemical sensor array within the ring via capillary forces. Calibration factors catering to the subject provide a more personalized insight, which is derived from repeated measurements. The data is sent wirelessly to a smartphone app, while the ring itself has all the sensors, low-power electronics, and a power source.
A flexible zinc-silver oxide rechargeable battery powers the ring. The ring can run for 12 hours between charges. The electronic board is smaller than a U.S. quarter and fits inside the device. The outer shell is made from a 3D-printed polymer, and Wang is impressed by such minuscule integrations made inside a wearable ring.
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