Patch Powered by Body Heat to Monitor Disease Signals

Body heat could one day power a tiny device that monitors what is happening beneath the skin.

This is the goal of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of a project to develop a wearable patch that continuously tracks indicators of heart failure and sepsis.

Named PYTHIA, the project is backed by up to $37.9 million from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Under the plan, the patch will harness the patient’s body heat while employing an energy-efficient artificial intelligence chip.

The technology targets molecules present in low concentrations in the interstitial fluid beneath the skin.

The team intends to use chemical reactions that make these indicators easier to detect, then convert the measurements into information that physicians can use.

Researchers hope that continuous monitoring will enable early detection of disease-related changes and track patient recovery after hospital discharge.

Sepsis, meanwhile, is a life-threatening response to infection that can lead to organ damage.

However, the patch remains a research objective; the team will begin developing and testing the electronic components before moving on to preclinical and clinical trials.