Chen Xiao-Ming, Li Yong-Jiang, Han Dan, Zhu Hui-Chao, Xue Chun-Dong, Chui Hsiang-Chen, Cao Tun, Qin Kai-Rong
School of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China.
Micromachines (Basel). 2019 Jul 7;10(7):457. doi: 10.3390/mi10070457.
Sweat collection and real time monitoring of sweat rate play essential roles in physiology monitoring and assessment of an athlete's performance during exercise. In this paper, we report a micropump for sweat simulant collection based on the capillary-evaporation effect. An electrochemical sensor is integrated into the micropump, which monitors the flow rate in real-time by detecting the current using three electrodes. The evaporation rate from micropore array, equivalent to the sweat rate, was theoretically and numerically investigated. The designed micropump yields the maximum collection rate as high as 0.235 μ L/min. In addition, the collection capability of the micropump was validated experimentally; the flow rate through the microchannel was further detected in real-time with the electrochemical sensor. The experimental maximum collection rate showed good consistency with the theoretical data. Our proposed device shows the potential for sweat collection and real-time monitoring of sweat rate, which is a promising candidate for being a wearable platform for real-time physiology and performance monitoring during exercise.
汗液收集以及实时监测出汗率在运动过程中对运动员的生理监测和表现评估起着至关重要的作用。在本文中，我们报道了一种基于毛细蒸发效应的用于收集汗液模拟物的微型泵。一个电化学传感器被集成到微型泵中，它通过使用三个电极检测电流来实时监测流速。从微孔阵列的蒸发速率，等同于出汗率，进行了理论和数值研究。所设计的微型泵产生的最大收集速率高达0.235微升/分钟。此外，微型泵的收集能力通过实验得到了验证；利用电化学传感器进一步实时检测了通过微通道的流速。实验最大收集速率与理论数据显示出良好的一致性。我们提出的装置展示了汗液收集和实时监测出汗率的潜力，它有望成为运动期间实时生理和表现监测的可穿戴平台。
