Airmen at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are testing bandage-like sensors that analyze sweat to assess physical and cognitive performance. This is based on a study by Dr. Josh Hagen of the Air Force Research Lab. The sensors notify users when stress, dehydration, and other health issues are detected.
“Our vision is that every Airman at the beginning of their week, will be able to put on an electronic band aid that will quantify everything about them,” said Hagen. “It would measure the typical things a doctor would measure in a checkup.”
Some Air Force Marathoners wore the sensor patch while running this year. While typical performance monitoring is done by measuring heart rate, skin temperature and blood pressure, biological chemical/molecular data is obtained from fluids. These include blood, urine, saliva and – in the case of the biosensor patch – sweat.