Wearable sweat patch to monitor blood sugar and metabolic health
Laser-Engraved Wearable Sweat Sensors to Detect and Monitor Cardiometabolic Disease
This project is building a wearable sweat sensor that continuously tracks glucose, uric acid, certain amino acids, and insulin to spot and follow metabolic risks like prediabetes and heart-related problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | California Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pasadena, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11163257 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
I would wear a small, laser-engraved patch that collects sweat and measures key metabolic markers without blood draws. The team will combine sensors for glucose, uric acid, branched-chain amino acids, and insulin into an integrated molecular sensing system (iMSS). They plan to test the devices in people with obesity and prediabetes to see if the sensors detect metabolic risk factors early enough to guide nutrition changes. The goal is to make monitoring seamless and continuous so problems can be caught and managed sooner.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults (age 21+) with obesity, prediabetes, or otherwise at high risk for type 2 diabetes who are willing to wear a sweat sensor and attend study visits.
Not a fit: Children, people without metabolic risk, those unable to produce sweat, or patients who need standard blood-based diagnostic tests may not benefit from this wearable sweat approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could provide non-invasive, continuous monitoring to detect metabolic risk earlier and support timely lifestyle or nutrition interventions to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular events.
How similar studies have performed: Related wearable sweat sensors and noninvasive glucose devices have shown promising early results in labs and small human studies, but translating them to consistent clinical accuracy is still evolving.
Where this research is happening
Pasadena, United States
- California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gao, Wei — California Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Gao, Wei
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.