New wearable ring tracks glucose, ketone and other biomarkers in sweat simultaneously
· Medical Xpressby Daniel Kane, Liezel Labios, University of California - San Diego
edited by Swati Mestri, reviewed by Robert Egan
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Engineers at the University of California San Diego created a smart ring that simultaneously and continuously monitors up to four different chemical biomarkers from finger sweat. The biomarkers the smart ring can monitor in sweat are glucose, ketones, vitamin C, uric acid, lactate and alcohol.
In a new paper published in Nature Communications, UC San Diego engineers in the lab of Joseph Wang, professor in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, report results from what they believe is the first fully integrated smart ring for daily biochemical monitoring.
"Commercial rings only provide biophysical information, but they lack molecular information about biochemical markers that offers deeper insights about an individual's health status," said study first author Tamoghna Saha, a postdoctoral researcher in Wang's lab.
For the ring to detect biomarkers in sweat, exercise or other exertion is not required; sweat is passively drawn up through the skin's surface via osmosis using a technique pioneered by Saha.
Tracking multiple biomarkers simultaneously has the potential to broaden the real-time health picture in many scenarios, including diabetes management and nutrition tracking.
Closer tracking for diabetes
"A ring capturing dynamic molecular information in real time would be extremely useful for making informed decisions regarding health, diet and lifestyle," Wang said. "For example, the ring's ability to track both glucose and ketone continuously and simultaneously would greatly benefit optimal insulin dosing for the management of diabetes."
In trials with healthy volunteers and people with type 1 diabetes, the biomarker smart ring's glucose readings closely tracked those from commercial continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), while the ketone readings closely tracked those from commercial blood meters.
- A new smart ring continuously tracks multiple biomarkers at the same time, including glucose, ketones, vitamin C, uric acid, lactate and alcohol. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
- The other half of the ring houses the flexible electronics, which consist of the battery and printed circuit board. Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
How the ring gathers sweat
The biomarker smart ring is a fully integrated prototype that includes all the necessary biomarker sensing technology, low-power electronics and a flexible battery. Biomarker information is sent wirelessly to a smartphone app.
The ring draws sweat passively using an osmotic hydrogel, a soft polymer that creates a pressure gradient to pull fluid from the skin painlessly. It works similarly to how water travels from soil to the leaves of plants. The collected sweat is analyzed by an electrochemical sensor array within the ring. Through repeated measurements, subject-specific calibration factors are established to convert current responses into concentration values. These calibration factors enable more personalized insight into biomarker trends.
Built to fit a ring
The ring is powered by a flexible zinc-silver oxide rechargeable battery that supplies power for up to 12 hours of operation between charges. The electronic board is smaller than a U.S. quarter. The outer shell of the smart ring is made from a 3D-printed polymer. "Such integration onto the small footprint of a ring form factor is amazing," Wang said.
Publication details
Tamoghna Saha et al, A fully integrated smart ring for daily biochemical monitoring, Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-75980-z
Journal information: Nature Communications
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EndocrinologyHealthy livingNutrition & Healthy eating Provided by University of California - San Diego Who's behind this story?
Swati Mestri
Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →
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