Importance

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Abstract

The method and system of the invention provide especially for continuously obtaining and analyzing, on a real time basis, sweat from a selected area of skin on the body of a person, especially a neonate, being diagnosed for cystic fibrosis, by causing sweating of the selected area of skin, by placing an electrically positive iontophoretic electrode device of a set of said devices over the selected area of skin preferably within a previously placed receiving and holding device which, following the induction of sweat and removal of the electrically positive iontophoretic electrode device, receives a sweat-sensing electrode device that continuously sends electrical signals to sweat analysis circuitry for providing a digital readout of the ionic composition of the sweat. The receiving and holding device insures recovery and utilization of essentially all of the sweat being produced by the selected area of skin. The sweat-sensing electrode device is of unique construction with respect to the flow of recovered sweat relative to ion-sensing electrodes arranged preferably serially along the path of sweat flow through the body of the sweat-sensing electrode device. The invention is not restricted to the foregoing use, but may be used in whole or in part to analyze sweat on a real time basis however produced and collected, with or without timing of its travel between sequential electrodes and use of the travel time to calculate the rate of sweating within the selected area of skin.

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First Claim