Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have developed a smart ring that simultaneously and continuously monitors up to four different chemical biomarkers in finger sweat. The set of biomarkers that the smart ring can monitor in sweat consists of glucose, ketones, vitamin C, uric acid, lactic acid, and alcohol.
In a new paper published in nature communicationsUC San Diego engineers in the lab of Joseph Wang, the Aiso Yufeng Lee Professor in the Department of Chemical and Nanoengineering in the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, are reporting the results of what is believed to be the first fully integrated smart ring for daily biochemical monitoring.
“Commercially available rings provide only biophysical information, but lack molecular information about biochemical markers that provide deeper insight into an individual’s health status,” said Tamoguna Saha, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in Wang’s lab.
No exercise or other effort is required for the ring to detect biomarkers in sweat. Using technology developed by Saha, sweat is passively drawn up from the skin’s surface by osmosis.
Tracking multiple biomarkers simultaneously has the potential to expand real-time health status in various scenarios, such as diabetes management and nutrition tracking.
“A ring that captures dynamic molecular information in real time will be extremely useful in making informed decisions about health, diet, and lifestyle,” Wang said. “For example, the Ring’s ability to track both glucose and ketones continuously and simultaneously will have significant benefits for optimal insulin dosing in the management of diabetes.”
In studies in healthy volunteers and patients with type 1 diabetes, the Biomarker Smart Ring’s glucose measurements closely tracked measurements from a commercially available continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and its ketone measurements closely tracked ketone measurements from a commercially available blood meter.
The Biomarker Smart Ring is a fully integrated prototype that includes all necessary biomarker sensing technology, low-power electronics, and a flexible battery. Biomarker information is transmitted wirelessly to a smartphone app. The ring passively wicks sweat away using osmotic hydrogel, a soft polymer that creates a pressure gradient and painlessly draws fluid from the skin. This works in the same way that water moves from the soil to the leaves of a plant. The collected sweat is analyzed by an electrochemical sensor array within the ring. Repeated measurements establish a subject-specific calibration factor and convert the current response to a concentration value. These calibration factors enable more personalized insight into biomarker trends.
The ring is powered by a flexible zinc-silver oxide rechargeable battery that allows up to 12 hours of operation between charges. The dimensions of the electronic board are in the range smaller than a US quarter coin. The outer shell of the smart ring is made of 3D printed polymer. “It’s amazing that we can achieve this kind of integration in the small footprint of a ring form factor,” says Wang.
sauce:
University of California, San Diego
Reference magazines:
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-75980-z
