Yin Xiaoyu, Adelaars Sophie, Peri Elisabetta, Pelssers Eduard, den Toonder Jaap, Bouwman Arthur, van de Kerkhof Daan, Mischi Massimo
Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Catharina Hospital, 5623 EJ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jul 23;25(15):4551. doi: 10.3390/s25154551.
We present a novel method to estimate blood cortisol concentration from sweat cortisol measurements, incorporating a kinetic model to simulate cortisol transport dynamics. Cortisol dysregulation is observed in conditions like Cushing's syndrome, characterized by excessive cortisol production, and stress-related disorders, which can lead to metabolic disturbances, anxiety, and impaired overall health. Sweat-sensing technology offers a non-invasive and continuous alternative to blood sampling. However, the limited research exploring the sweat-blood cortisol relationship in patients shows a moderate correlation (R<0.6), hindering its clinical application for long-term monitoring. In this paper, we propose a novel kinetic model describing cortisol transport from blood to sweat. The model was validated using data from 44 patients before and after cardiac surgery. A high Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.92-0.97) was observed between our model's estimated and experimental blood cortisol concentrations. Moreover, the method enables personalized estimation of physiological parameters, accurately reflecting patients' status under varying clinical conditions. The method paves the way for the clinical application of long-term, non-invasive monitoring of cortisol using sweat-sensing technology. Enabling the personalized estimation of physiological parameters could potentially support clinical decision-making, helping doctors diagnose and monitor patients with health conditions involving cortisol dysregulation.
我们提出了一种从汗液皮质醇测量值估算血液皮质醇浓度的新方法，该方法纳入了一个动力学模型来模拟皮质醇的传输动态。在库欣综合征（其特征为皮质醇过度分泌）以及与压力相关的疾病等情况下会观察到皮质醇失调，这些疾病会导致代谢紊乱、焦虑以及整体健康受损。汗液传感技术为采血提供了一种非侵入性的连续替代方法。然而，对患者汗液与血液中皮质醇关系的有限研究显示出中等程度的相关性（R<0.6），这阻碍了其在长期监测中的临床应用。在本文中，我们提出了一种描述皮质醇从血液到汗液传输的新型动力学模型。该模型使用了44例心脏手术患者术前和术后的数据进行验证。我们模型估算的血液皮质醇浓度与实验测得的浓度之间观察到了高达0.95的皮尔逊相关系数（95%置信区间：0.92 - 0.97）。此外，该方法能够对生理参数进行个性化估算，准确反映患者在不同临床条件下的状态。该方法为使用汗液传感技术对皮质醇进行长期、非侵入性监测的临床应用铺平了道路。实现对生理参数的个性化估算可能会支持临床决策，帮助医生诊断和监测患有涉及皮质醇失调健康状况的患者。
