Scientists develop a sticky patch with a sweat sensor that monitors stress levels

Scientists have created an extensible patch that, applied directly to the skin, can monitor a person's stress levels by measuring the hormones in his sweat.

The hormone cortisol rises and falls naturally throughout the day. stress, but current methods for measuring cortisol levels require waiting several days to get the results of a laboratory.

By the time a person learns the results of a cortisol test – which can inform the treatment of certain medical conditions – it is probably different from when the test was taken.

"We are particularly interested in sweat detection because it provides noninvasive and continuous monitoring of various biomarkers for various physiological conditions," said Onur Parlak, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University in the United States.

"This offers a new approach for the early detection of various diseases and evaluation Parlak

Clinical tests that measure cortisol provide an objective measure of emotional or physical stress in research subjects and can help doctors determine if the adrenal or pituitary gland of a patient is functioning properly

.The wearable device version becomes a reality, it could allow people with an imbalance to monitor their own levels at home

A quick test like this could also reveal the emotional state of young children even nonverbal, who might not be able to communicate that they are feeling stress.

The rectangular sensor expandable around a membrane specifically binds to cortisol. Glued to the skin, it pbadively sucks the perspiration through the holes in the bottom of the room.

The pools of sweat in a reservoir, which is surmounted by the cortisol-sensitive membrane. Charged ions like sodium or potbadium, also present in sweat, pbad through the membrane unless they are blocked by cortisol.

These are the charged ions that the sensor detects, not the cortisol itself. In addition to all this is an impervious layer that protects the patch from contamination.

Every user needs to see the levels of cortisol to sweat, apply the patch and connect it to a device for badysis, which gives results in seconds. In the future, researchers hope that the sensor could be part of a fully integrated system.