Wireless Sweat Patch Could Be Used as Diagnostic Test for Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that causes excessive mucus to accumulate in the lungs, impairs digestion, and can affect multiple organs. More than 40,000 children and adults in the U.S. currently live with the disease, which is progressive and often results in early mortality. While treatments exist to improve quality of life, optimizing the use of new drugs outside clinical settings remains a challenge. A new wearable device now offers a way to monitor CF patients more effectively and provide real-time insights into treatment efficacy.

Developed by researchers from Northwestern Medicine (Chicago, IL, USA) in collaboration with spinout company Epicore Biosystems (Cambridge, MA, USA), the CF patch is a wireless sticker-like device that measures biomarkers in sweat. The patch is worn on the wrist and includes two channels: one for measuring sweat volume and another for measuring sweat chloride, the key diagnostic marker of CF. Physicians capture an image of the patch using a smartphone or tablet, and color changes are analyzed to provide data comparable in accuracy to laboratory-based testing.

Image: The wireless and wearable device measure specific biomarkers in a person’s sweat (Photo courtesy of Roozbeh Ghaffari)

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers evaluated the patch’s accuracy against the gold-standard chloride sweat test. To test feasibility, 20 adults with cystic fibrosis and seven healthy controls completed both a clinic-based chloride sweat test and five remote exercise sessions over 14 days while wearing the device. Researchers found that the CF patch measured sweat chloride as effectively as tests done in specialized laboratories.

These findings demonstrate that the wearable microfluidic sweat patch can deliver accurate, remote monitoring of sweat chloride in individuals with CF. Such technology could optimize the use of CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) modulator drugs, which improve protein function and disease trajectory, by offering consistent data on treatment effectiveness. The next phase will assess whether the device can guide clinical decision-making more directly in patient care.

Going forward, the patch could expand CF screening and monitoring in rural and under-resourced areas with limited access to diagnostic labs. By providing reliable results outside clinical environments, the device has the potential to expedite diagnosis and improve long-term disease management.

“We wanted to see how accurate our CF patch was relative to the gold standard, whether we could do it remotely at home, and then also see how consistent the sweat chloride is in response to the medications (i.e., CFTR modulators),” said Manu Jain, MD, senior author of the study. “Potentially this could be used as a screening or diagnostic test in parts of the country where sweat testing is not readily available and could expedite the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis.”

Related Links:
Northwestern Medicine
Epicore Biosystems