Researchers at Northwestern University have created a tiny, wearable device that can “listen” to the gases your skin gives off — and what it hears can say a lot about your health.
This new invention is the first wearable device that can measure gases naturally released or absorbed by your skin.
These gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can provide important clues about your skin’s condition and overall health.
The device can help monitor wounds, detect infections, track hydration levels, and even check for exposure to harmful environmental chemicals.
What makes this device different is that it doesn’t touch your skin. Instead, it hovers just a few millimeters above it, using a small chamber filled with sensors to collect information.
This is especially helpful for people with fragile skin, like newborns, the elderly, and patients with diabetes, because it doesn’t disturb wounds or sensitive areas.
The research, published in Nature, was led by Professors John A. Rogers, Guillermo A. Ameer, and Yonggang Huang.
They wanted to find a new way to gather health information from the skin — something that doesn’t require sweat, which usually needs heat or drugs to stimulate. They discovered that your skin is constantly releasing small amounts of gas, and those gases can be linked to your health.
The outer layer of skin, called the skin barrier, plays a key role in keeping moisture in and harmful things out. When it’s damaged, your body loses water more easily and becomes more vulnerable to infections and irritants. Doctors currently use large machines in hospitals to measure this water loss, but the new wearable device is small and easy to use — even at home.
The device is only about 2 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters wide. It contains sensors, a battery, a circuit, and a tiny valve that opens and closes. When the valve opens, gases from the air and the skin enter the chamber. When it closes, the sensors measure how the gas levels change over time. This approach helps avoid confusion from changing air conditions, which could otherwise affect the results.
The data is sent directly to a smartphone or tablet using Bluetooth, making it possible for doctors to check patients’ skin health in real time — without waiting for lab results.
This is especially important for wound care. High levels of water vapor, CO2, or VOCs may suggest that a wound is infected or healing slowly. If doctors can catch signs of infection early, they can treat it faster and reduce the need for strong antibiotics. This is crucial in preventing serious complications like sepsis and avoiding the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
For people with diabetes, who often struggle with slow-healing wounds, this kind of close monitoring could help prevent infections and even amputations. The device could also show whether the skin is truly healing beneath the surface, even if it looks better on the outside.
Beyond wounds, the technology could be used to test how well bug sprays, lotions, and creams work. Since CO2 and VOCs attract mosquitos, the device could measure whether a product is actually reducing those gases on the skin. It might also help researchers create better skincare products and medicines that pass through the skin more effectively.
The team plans to continue improving the device. They want to add more features, such as sensors for tracking skin pH, and better tools for detecting early signs of other diseases.
According to Professor Rogers, this new technology is not just about skin. It’s about predicting health problems before they get serious, personalizing care, and making health tracking easier and more comfortable — all by listening to the quiet signals your skin is already sending out.
