Cincinnati is at the forefront of studying chemicals in sweat and what it could mean for your health

Dr. Jason Heikenfeld could be described as a sweat investigator. The University of Cincinnati professor uses sensors to measure sweat, which can help monitor a variety of health components, from drugs in someone’s system to when a woman might be ovulating.  Heikenfeld helped develop technology that measures chemicals in sweat from people’s abdomens, backs and forearms. The sensors measure different properties of sweat, because sweat picks up some of the smaller properties in the person’s bloodstream.  “Sweat is a really rich biofluid,” Heikenfeld said. “It has biomarkers that tell you all about human physiology.”  The device looks like a fitness band someone would wear on their arm, but it's no Fitbit; it's a gateway to sweat intelligence, and Cincinnati is on the leading edge globally.