A new fitness tracker's sensors go beyond tracking steps, heart rate, and sleep, to collect data from sweat. Information about the chemicals in perspiration could be used for detecting low blood sugar or sodium levels, to monitor for conditions such as dehydration and fatigue.

Ali Javey invented the wearable device and reported on it in the journal Nature. He is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California at Berkley (UCB).

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Javey explained that the sweat monitor can measure various chemicals in perspiration. They include glucose, sodium, potassium, and lactate, according to Newsmax.

 The tracker is the first one of its kind. That is because the fully-integrated electronic system can constantly monitors multiple sweat chemicals constantly and at the same time, and then transmits processed data to the wearer's smartphone app that syncs the information.

The prototype health tracker includes a flexible circuit board. It contains 10 circuit chips that are linked to sensors that monitor body temperature and various chemicals.

Javey explained that the human body's sweat contains a lot of data. This makes it a useful liquid for "non-invasive" wearable sensors.

However, the UC professor also pointed out that sweat is complex. It is needed for many tests that collect data about a person's state of health.

Javey explains that the goal of the new wearable is to provide real-time data. It could then inform the wearer that the person should drink a glass of water to rehydrate, or take a medication.

The California professor shared that past studies have shown chemical changes in sweat, according to The New York Times. However, it was difficult to measure the change in patients until he developed his system that is easy to wear.

In fact, Javey's fitness tracker is not the first device that includes sweat sensors. However, it is the first one in the world that analyzes many chemicals in molecules of perspiration and then provides real-time data.

Blood tests are now the first option for measuring electrolytes and metabolites in people's body. However, UCB's George Brooks shares that Javey's device could become a game-changing non-invasive second option.

Here are some benefits of sweating: