Biomedical sensors are part of a medical-device industry valued at $88 billion in the United States, according to the market-research firm IbisWorld. The industry is poised to see explosive growth in the next five years with the advent of new technology and increasing competition.



Heikenfeld helped launch the Cincinnati biosensor company in 2013 with help from UC’s Technology Accelerator program. He serves as Eccrine System’s chief science officer and was recently named UC’s assistant vice president of entrepreneurial affairs and technology commercialization.

The company’s work is attracting international attention because of the profound way that it could change health diagnosis and monitoring, he said.

"Doctors would love to know if chemical concentrations are increasing or decreasing over time," Heikenfeld said. "What was your baseline before you got sick? Then by measuring the change in concentrations, we know even more about how sick you are or how quickly you are getting better."

Blood analysis is considered the gold standard for biometric analysis. But biometric testing with blood is invasive and often requires the use of a lab. It is far more difficult for doctors to perform continuous monitoring of blood over hours or days.

Sweat provides a noninvasive alternative, with chemical markers that are more useful in monitoring health than saliva or tears, Heikenfeld said.

“People for a long time ignored sweat because, although it can be a higher-quality fluid for biomarkers, you can’t rely on having access to it,” Heikenfeld said. “Our goal was to achieve methods to stimulate sweat whenever needed — or for days.”



