Chinese team’s wearable dopamine patch could be used to track depression, Parkinson’s
Researchers in China have developed a wearable smart patch that uses microscopic needles to monitor dopamine levels in real-time. This innovation could provide a non-invasive, at-home method for tracking neurological conditions like Parkinson's and depression.
Why it matters
Current diagnostic methods for dopamine-related conditions are invasive and painful; this technology could revolutionize long-term patient monitoring.
Scientists in northeast China say they have developed a “rapid and ultrasensitive” wearable dopamine sensor to monitor levels of the critical neurotransmitter.
The smart patch could potentially be used for at-home tracking of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and depression, according to the research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Shenyang Institute of Automation.
They said the patch – which uses microscopic needles to test fluid just beneath the skin – was painless and monitored dopamine levels in real time.
“The innovation opens up entirely new technological pathways for the continuous monitoring of neurotransmitters, making early screening for neurological diseases and smart, at-home health management closer to reality,” the scientists wrote in the August issue of peer-reviewed journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
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