Sweat extraction and analysis device

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 printed circuit including a microcontroller, one or more stimulation pads in connected to the microcontroller, a sensing circuit connected to the microcontroller, and an electrode array;   wherein the electrode array includes: iontophoresis electrodes connected to the one or more stimulation pads for sweat induction, and sensing electrodes connected to the sensing circuit for sweat sensing;   wherein the electronics comprises a programmable current source for delivery of iontophoresis current to each of the one or more stimulation pads;   wherein the sensing circuit includes multiple signal paths configured for multiplexed operation; and   wherein the one or more stimulation pads and the sensing circuitry are electrically decoupled for independent functionality.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the sweat stimulating compounds include a cholinergic agent.