Device for characterization of biofluids

Abstract

The invention addresses confounding difficulties involving continuous sweat analyte measurement. Specifically, the present invention provides: at least one component capable of monitoring whether a sweat sensing device is in sufficient contact with a wearer's skin to allow proper device operation; at least one component capable of monitoring whether the device is operating on a wearer's skin; at least one means of determining whether the device wearer is a target individual within a probability range; at least one component capable of generating and communicating alert messages to the device user(s) related to: wearer safety, wearer physiological condition, compliance with a requirement to wear a device, device operation; compliance with a behavior requirement, or other purposes that may be derived from sweat sensor data; and the ability to utilize aggregated sweat sensor data that may be correlated with information external to the device to enhance the predictive capabilities of the device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device, comprising:
 a flexible substrate configured to conform to skin, wherein a the flexible substrate includes a microfluidic component for transporting a biofluid; and   one or more sensors supported by the flexible substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate is configured to be removably adhered to the skin. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate comprises one or more of a polyimide, and a polyurethane. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible substrate has a thickness of 20 micrometers. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the one or more sensors quantitatively or qualitatively monitors the biofluid. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect and continuously analyze one or more biomarkers of the biofluid. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the one or more biomarkers of the biofluid includes ions, electrolytes, small molecules, and/or metabolites. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured to characterize a sweat rate of the biofluid. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors includes one or more of: an electrochemical sensor, an ion-selective electrode sensor, a temperature sensor, a sweat rate sensor, a potentiometric sensor, an amperometric sensor, an impedimetric sensor, a capacitive sensor, an optical sensor, a chem-FET sensor, an accelerometer, a mechanical sensor, a heart rate monitor, a galvanic skin response sensor, a pulse oximetry sensor, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter, a receiver, and/or a transceiver. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a near field communication antenna coil, a radio frequency identification antenna coil, or a Bluetooth transceiver. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the biofluid is sweat. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device has a length selected from a range of 40 millimeters to 60 millimeters, a width selected from a range of 25 millimeters to 70 millimeters, and a thickness selected from a range of 1.2 millimeters to 2 millimeters. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device uses one or more of heat, pressure, electricity, iontophoresis, or diffusion of one or more chemical stimulant to cause a chemical or biological change. 
     
     
         15 . A method comprising:
 providing a device comprising a flexible substrate configured to conform to skin and one or more sensors supported by the flexible substrate, wherein a the flexible substrate provides for transportation of a biofluid to the one or more sensors; and   applying the device to the skin; and   obtaining data from the one or more sensors, wherein the data provides a quantitative or qualitative information associated with the biofluid.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the device is configured to extract a fluid that includes the biofluid.