In the future, new digital technologies are likely to optimize the medication intake of patients, according to scientists from UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and Stanford School of Medicine in the journal „Proceedings of the National Academy of Science“. By measuring drug levels via sweat on the wrist of patients, it will be possible to achieve personalized drug intake and dosage using a specially developed Smartwatch. Sweat droplets on the wrist of the person affected by the measurement show a composition similar to the molecules circulating in the body, which would have to be investigated using invasive – and therefore time-consuming and expensive – methods. The drugs can also be found in sweat in an almost identical composition. This has already been analysed using the analgesic active substance paracetamol, which was administered to the test persons in the analysis. By applying mini impulses of electric current to the wrist, they altered the body chemistry of the affected persons in such a way that they started sweating without moving. By means of a sensor on the wrist in the form of a specially developed Smartwatch, the scientists were able to identify the electrochemical signature of the active substance and record its concentration. By means of non-invasive tracking, they were able to control the profile of the medication in order to achieve an optimal and personalized dosage, because nowadays only the age and weight of the patients usually play a role in unit doses. However, since genetic predisposition and other dynamic factors, such as individual endogenous chemical changes, mean that the dosage of drugs is not uniform, these novel technologies will become even more important.
