Over the last decade, people have become accustomed to a wide range of devices acting as health trackers, such as phones and watches. Ohio State University has been looking into something a little less weighty than phones and watches to track health data – necklaces. They are hoping to use these pieces of jewelry to interpret biomarkers in people’s sweat to track their health. Relying on radio frequency signals, necklaces could interpret certain health metrics as a person sweats over the course of a day.
The initial study required participants to exercise for 30 minutes on cycles, then take a 15-minute rest, at which time they were given sugary drinks. Once the rest period ended, they returned to the cycles for another round of exercise. The focus of the devices was on tracking the participants’ glucose levels, but they also monitored other biochemicals during the study. The researchers focused on sweat because of the numerous biomarkers that it contains, and not much sweat is required to provide a wealth of data.
All types of bodily fluids are rich in biomarkers, letting medical professionals know that a person has a certain disease, is suffering from an infection, or has experienced emotional trauma. It is even thought that medical professionals will be able to use bodily fluids to learn more about a patient’s neurotransmitters and hormones. This would provide a much less invasive and hopefully quicker way of detecting a lot of problems earlier.
If you think that this could be a development you want to follow, you can start by checking out the article at “Smart Necklace” That Tracks Your Health Through Sweat Created by Scientists. Over time, you can track the progress of the device to see if it might be a better solution to tracking your health.
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