Electronic tattoo measures stress levels right in the palm of your hand
Researchers have developed an electronic tattoo that can measure our stress level directly in the palm of the hand based on the sweat discharge.
New technologies now enable the use of many different treatment methods. Smartwatches, for example, are already recording general vital data. An enrichment with further data such as a digital scale does not seem unreasonable. Researchers from the University of Texas and Texas A&M University have now developed a new approach to measuring stress.
Because what happens when you find yourself in an uncomfortable stressful situation? Many people’s palms get damp. Medical devices can already measure the stress affecting a person from this reaction, but these are usually relatively large and unwieldy.
Electronic tattoo measures stress levels right in the palm of your hand
How nice would there be an approach that is barely visible and still collects reliable data. And this is where the scientists come in. They developed an electronic tattoo and printed it on a test subject’s palm. A small computer chip then transfers the data to a smartwatch. The wearer therefore has a constant overview.
However, the approach also presented some challenges. To ensure that the tattoo is barely visible and noticeable, the researchers used graphene as a material. This is very thin and quickly breaks apart if the load is too high. However, a palm is usually in motion, so an innovative solution had to be found.
New technologies enable promising applications
To do this, the researchers developed a rubber that consists of two layers. gold and graphene. The layers partially overlap, if the rubber stretches, an exchange of information (based on an electrical voltage) is still possible. This also meant that test persons hardly felt the new construct in everyday life.
The team was inspired by the recent whirlwind surrounding the metaverse. In this area, too, many medical uses can be found to measure the psychological well-being of people. It remains to be seen to what extent the new electronic tattoo can help people in their everyday lives.
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