Wireless system enables fast, accurate measurements of skin hydration

A soft, noninvasive device that adheres to the skin provides accurate, high-speed, automated measurements of skin water content on nearly any location on the body, a study finds. Tools for evaluating skin hydration could shed light on skin structure and function, and guide clinical decision-making. Conventional instruments that assess skin water content are expensive, bulky, rigid, and difficult to use repeatedly, while recently developed wireless alternatives that adhere to the skin have limited operating range and are very sensitive to environmental conditions. To address these limitations, Jan-Kai Chang, John Rogers, and colleagues developed a robust, miniaturized platform that flexibly adheres to the skin and allows long-range monitoring of thermal transport properties with high levels of repeatability. A Bluetooth Low Energy system on a chip controls the multi-sensor module and enables wireless data communication to a smartphone. The authors tested their electronics on three healthy subjects and two patients with atopic dermatitis — the most common inflammatory skin condition. The new platform and standard clinical devices yielded similar results before and after application of a moisturizer. According to the authors, the versatile system could be used to track the hydration level of healthy skin, diagnose and assess the severity of a wide range of skin diseases, and evaluate personal care products and medications.

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Article #20-20398:


“Wireless, soft electronics for rapid, multisensory measurements of hydration levels in healthy and diseased skin,” by Kyeongha Kwon et al.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

John Rogers,

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL;

tel: 217-369-7398;

email: <

jrogers@northwestern.edu

>;

Jan-Kai Chang,

Wearifi Inc., Evanston, IL;

tel: 847-236-2760;

email: <

jkchang@mywearifi.com

>