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Sweat-Sensing Skin Patch for Pain-Free Bloodless Medical Testing

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers introduce a new microfluidic skin patch that can collect and analyze sweat. Using colorimetric biochemical assays and integrating smartphone image capture analysis, the device detected lactate, glucose, and chloride ion concentrations in sweat as well as sweat pH while stuck to the skin of individuals during a controlled cycling test. The researchers suggest that the microfluidic devices could be used during athletic or military training and could be adapted to test other bodily fluids such as tears or saliva. It could even pave the way for a pain-free, bloodless method of prescreening people for diabetes in the future.