Wearable microfluidics: fabric-based digital droplet flowmetry for perspiration analysis.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Microfluidics
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Wearable technology advancements focus on body fluid analysis.
• Developing precise methods for continuous biofluid collection and measurement is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a novel wearable microfluidic platform for real-time sweat flow rate measurement.
• To introduce digital droplet flowmetry (DDF) for precise biofluid analysis.

Main Methods:

• Fabric materials and laser micromachining were used to create the wearable microfluidic platform.
• A theoretical model was developed to investigate and optimize design parameters for the interfacial microfluidic platform.

Main Results:

• The wearable DDF platform achieved high precision (96% on average) in continuous perspiration measurement.
• The digitalized measurement principle demonstrated fast responses, digital readouts, and system flexibility.

Conclusions:

• The proposed DDF platform offers a novel, convenient method for real-time biofluid monitoring.
• This technology has potential applications in dynamic removal, collection, and monitoring for physiological and clinical processes.