Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 49, Issue 2 342-346, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
An electrocapillary flowmeter usable as a quantitative sweat detector
R. Alric, R. Quatrefages and J. Comallonga
A quantitative sweat detector was devised as part of a noninvasive portable
warning apparatus intended for the surveillance of unstable insulin-treated
diabetics who may have nocturnal hypoglycemic attacks. The sweat sensor
consists of a pair of electrodes embedded in a porous material that is
infiltrated under capillary drive by sweat as it oozes out of the skin. It
was shown that the detector is almost insensitive to insensible
perspiration but undergoes graded variation of impedance as it is filled
with sweat. It thus works as a transducer of sweat flux (flow rate through
unit skin area) as long as the porous material is not saturated. This
device has already proved useful as a hypogycemic alarm and could certainly
be used for the measurement of sweating rate in place of more cumbersome
devices involving ventilated chambers.
