U.S. researchers say they have developed a medical device that, when placed on the skin, can monitor a person's cardiovascular health as well as the condition of his or her skin.
The tiny device, measuring about 2 square inches, utilizes thousands of liquid crystals placed on a flexible backing to indicate body temperature, changing color to make the wearer notice potential problems.
It can be worn all day for continuous health monitoring, scientists from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say.
"Our device is mechanically invisible -- it is ultrathin and comfortable -- much like skin itself," says Northwestern senior researcher Yonggang Huang.
Co-author Yihui Zhang, also from Northwestern, calls the device, "very practical -- when your skin is stretched, compressed or twisted, the device stretches, compresses or twists right along with it."
Temperature changes at the surface of the skin can indicate the rate of blood flow, relevant to a person's cardiovascular health, and can also indicate skin hydration levels.
The dense array of color-changing crystals produces a picture of how skin temperature is dispersed across areas of the body covered by the device.
In less than 30 seconds, an algorithm can translate that temperature information into a precise health summary, the researchers report in the journal Nature Communications.
The 3,600 liquid crystals can provide data resolution comparable to infrared skin-sensing technology currently used in hospitals, the researchers note.
The infrared technology, they point out, is expensive and only suitable for laboratory and clinical applications, while the skin sensor is both low-cost and portable.
"This technology significantly expands the range of functionality in skin-mounted devices beyond the possible with electronics alone," author John A. Rogers of the University of Illinois says.
The medical field is not the only area that might welcome such a device, Huang says.
"One can imagine cosmetics companies being interested in the ability to measure skin's dryness in a portable and non-intrusive way," he says. "This is the first device of its kind."
Wearable technology is a burgeoning field, even in the consumer electronics arena, with new smart watches, pedometers, health monitors and activity trackers being introduced at a dizzying rate.
As with a lot of new technology, wearable tech appears especially appealing to the young.
In the 16 to 24 age bracket, 71 percent in a survey said they wanted wearable tech, whether it be a smart watch, Google glass or smart wristband.
Sixty-four percent of Internet users around the world have either worn an example of wearable tech or are "keen to do so in the future," according to GlobalWebIndex.
