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Deep diveTECH

SensorGel Deep Dive: A Skin-Applied Gel That Monitors Blood Glucose, Heart Rate, and Blood Oxygen Simultaneously

A KAIST materials science team develops SensorGel, a flexible sensing gel that forms a transparent film on skin after application, simultaneously monitoring blood glucose, heart rate, blood oxygen, and skin hydration via photoplethysmography and bioimpedance analysis, with data transmitted in real time via Bluetooth.

SensorGel Deep Dive: A Skin-Applied Sensing Gel

A materials science team led by Professor Park Jun-hyuk at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has published a paper in Nature Materials describing SensorGel, a flexible sensing gel. After application to the skin surface, the gel forms a transparent elastic film just 0.2mm thick within 30 seconds, integrating multiple biosensing functions.

SensorGel's core innovation lies in the multi-layered sensor array embedded within its conductive hydrogel matrix. The outermost layer is a transparent conductive polymer PEDOT:PSS electrode that collects bioelectrical signals from the skin surface. The middle layer is an optical sensing layer containing gold nanoparticles that measures heart rate and blood oxygen using photoplethysmography (PPG). The bottom layer is a chemical sensing layer containing glucose oxidase that indirectly estimates blood glucose levels from sweat glucose concentration.

"Traditional wearable sensors require rigid substrates and complex encapsulation processes," said Professor Park. "SensorGel's advantage is that it fully conforms to the skin, isn't affected by motion artifacts, and users don't need to remove it even while showering."

Lab tests show SensorGel's blood glucose monitoring correlates with Abbott's FreeStyle Libre CGM system at r=0.94, heart rate measurement error within ±2 bpm, and blood oxygen measurement error within ±1.5%. A single application lasts approximately 72 hours, after which the gel naturally degrades and detaches.

Professor Park's team has partnered with Samsung SDI to commercialize SensorGel technology, with a target price of approximately $5 per gel patch — far below current CGM patch pricing.

The technology's limitation is the 15-to-30-minute delay between sweat glucose concentration and blood glucose concentration, with results also affected by perspiration volume and skin condition. The team is developing adaptive calibration algorithms to improve accuracy across different environmental conditions.