A wearable electrochemical sensor for the real-time measurement of sweat sodium concentration

TLDR

Real‑time sweat sodium data can advance human physiology studies, from athlete performance to cystic fibrosis monitoring. The study introduces a wearable platform that integrates a sodium‑selective ISE for real‑time sweat sodium quantification and tests its use in athletes and cystic fibrosis patients. The Sodium Sensor Belt combines a sodium‑selective ISE with a fabric pump that continuously wicked sweat from the skin to the electrode, eliminating the need for skin cleaning or sweat storage. The sensor reached a steady‑state sodium plateau after equilibration, with concentrations matching literature ranges and AAS‑verified accuracy; daily calibration was ±3.0 % RSD and three‑month reproducibility ±12.1 % RSD, and it detected ∼60 mM Na⁺ in two CF patients, though limited data were obtained from others.

Abstract

We report a new method for the real-time quantitative analysis of sodium in human sweat, consolidating sweat collection and analysis in a single, integrated, wearable platform. This temporal data opens up new possibilities in the study of human physiology, broadly applicable from assessing high performance athletes to monitoring Cystic Fibrosis (CF) sufferers. Our compact Sodium Sensor Belt (SSB) consists of a sodium selective Ion Selective Electrode (ISE) integrated into a platform that can be interfaced with the human body during exercise. No skin cleaning regime or sweat storage technology is required as the sweat is continually wicked from the skin to a sensing surface and from there to a storage area via a fabric pump. Our results suggest that after an initial equilibration period, a steady-state sodium plateau concentration was reached. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) was used as a reference method, and this has confirmed the accuracy of the new continuous monitoring approach. The steady-state concentrations observed were found to fall within ranges previously found in the literature, which further validates the approach. Daily calibration repeatability (n = 4) was ±3.0% RSD and over a three month period reproducibility was ±12.1% RSD (n = 56). As a further application, we attempted to monitor the sweat of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) sufferers using the same device. We observed high sodium concentrations symptomatic of CF (∼60 mM Na+) for two CF patients, with no conclusive results for the remaining patients due to their limited exercising capability, and high viscosity/low volume of sweat produced.