Breakthrough Health Sweat Sensor Device Gets Key US Patent

Eccrine Systems, Inc., Cincinnati-based developers of advanced diagnostic wearable sweat sensors, announced that the Company’s Co-Founder & CSO, Dr. Jason Heikenfeld, had received a key US patent, US10136831, for a state-of-the-art on-body sweat biosensor. The patented invention is a groundbreaking technology for use in medicine, sport, and industry.

It comprises using wearable sweat devices that can electronically compare two or more measures of an analyte the moment it emerges in freshly excreted sweat. Dr. Heikenfeld is also the inventor of the device and a well-known researcher at the University of Cincinnati (UC). The Company now holds exclusive rights to the UC patent.

Sweat Sensor Benefits

This invention enables the correlation of sweat analyte data trends with consecutive blood values or analogous physiological measurements. In other words, wearable patches allow minute amounts of sweat to be collected and accurately analyzed with a strong blood data correlation.

The invention was developed by Heikenfeld more than four years ago when continuous on-body measurements of sweat analytes was just at its inception. Heikenfeld is credited with many of the most significant advances in the wearable sweat sensor arena in which he is considered an eminent scientific leader.

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What the Sweat Sensor Does

Eccrine Systems uses Heikenfeld’s invention to correlate, by time, the data taken from the sweat sensor devices, including algorithms and data that will explain the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of medicines excreted in sweat. PK is a division of pharmacology devoted to determining the fate of substances given to living organisms.

The researchers working on the device envision a day when the data from constant sweat monitoring will be an indispensable tool in health care, just as blood tests are.

Dr. Gavi Begtrup, Eccrine Systems CEO, said of the invention that an excellent example of its utility is in the non-invasive monitoring of medication. He added that without using this invention, it is impossible to create an on-body gadget that obtains a sweat PK curve, which can then be compared to the PK curve of a drug. He stated that this is a vital breakthrough given the almost $500 billion annual healthcare costs of non-optimized medication treatment. A substantial portion of this cost can result from specific PK dissimilarities that cause poor treatment outcomes.

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Expanding its R&D

The privately held Eccrine Systems Company is committed to improving human productivity, safety, and health through the invention and development of cutting-edge sweat sensing technology. The Company was established in 2013 to commercialize intellectual property and technology exclusively licensed from UC, and with the financial backing of CincyTech and its network of investment sources.

In January the Company announced that it would be expanding its R&D capacity in Cincinnati to accelerate the development of its sweat sensor platform. The Company currently has 50 employees but expects to fill an additional 50 new jobs in the next three years. The positions to be filled include scientists, clinical researchers, engineers, product developers, and marketing and sales staff to sustain the Company’s commercial launch and growth.

Where to from Here?

Since being founded in 2013 by Dr. Heikenfeld with backing from seed investor CincyTech, Eccrine has gradually expanded its world-class intellectual property (IP) portfolio dedicated to sweat and biosensor advancement.

The patent and expansion will help the Company further advance its leading edge sweat analysis tech to provide safer work environments for customers and to promote health.

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