Hardware

Our team set out with the goal of designing a wearable device to measure cortisol levels, with an emphasis on simplicity, comfort, and approachability. Through careful brainstorming and testing, we aimed to create a device that mimics familiar wearable technology while offering a practical solution for real-time cortisol monitoring.

To begin with, we were inspired by glucose monitoring patches, as they are already widely accepted and easily worn by patients with diabetes. This familiarity helped shape the initial concept for our design, ensuring that the device would be less intimidating for potential users.

Design Development

In the early stages, we debated whether the device should have a round or square form. After several discussions, we opted for a round design that feels natural and non-intrusive. Our goal was to make the device as comfortable as possible for users, and the smooth, circular shape makes it easy to attach to the skin, similar to current glucose-monitoring technologies.

Cortisol Monitoring Device

Our original design shows the interstitial fluid (ISF) entering through the needle from where it has pierced the skin. Inside the blue chamber shown, there is a gold electrode with a positive and negative charge, as well as the Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) that is attached to said electrode. With that the cortisol from ISF would bind to the GR attached to the gold electrode, causing a conformational change and with that a change of impedance in the electrode, as it is flowing by. Then the chip reads out the electric signal from the electrode and converts it into a readable output for us. The ISF would flow through the needle more or less continuously and regularly, as the chip continues to measure cortisol levels throughout the day.

3D Printing the Model

Once the design was finalized, we began working on 3D printing the device prototype. The 3D printing process allowed us to create a tangible model of our device, and we experimented with different settings and materials to find the most suitable configuration for production.

The following pictures highlight the various stages of 3D printing: Setting up the model in the printing software (Cura), printing the device using an Ultimaker 3D printer, fine-tuning the design, and examining the final 3D-printed result.

Our main challenge was ensuring the device would be comfortable and functional for everyday use. Through trial and error, we tested various 3D printed prototypes until we achieved a balance between aesthetics and practicality

Challenges and Solutions

Our main challenge was ensuring the device would be comfortable and functional for everyday use. Through trial and error, we tested various 3D-printed prototypes until we achieved a balance between aesthetics and practicality. Additionally, we focused on making the device non-invasive and as small as possible without compromising its functionality.

Additionally, we focused on making the device non-invasive and as small as possible without compromising its functionality. Below we discuss the benefits and ethics of our cortisol patch, as discussed with senior advisor from Digital Life Norway, Anamika Chatterjee.

Challenge Solution

Ethics and Inclusivity

While developing the idea for our cortisol patch we looked through the market and most of the work seemed to be done on saliva and sweat and working with interstitial fluid is new and unique in its right. Working on interstitial fluid makes it possible for a person to do their own monitoring at home, without the need for a doctor's appointment and a blood sample to be taken.

2. We have recently run a market analysis questionnaire for students of all ages, from high school students to PhDs, so that we can see their concerns and how they would feel about a patch that would be used on their arm. The data so far suggests that people like the idea, but are skeptical about the benefits of this device, especially those with milder diagnosis or just general stress.

Inclusion

Our goal is to create access to this patch on a worldwide scale and to have a patent that is affordable for everyone regardless of socioeconomic background. The 3D-printed design reduces production costs, making the patch more accessible.

Our goal is to create access to this patch on a worldwide scale and we are aiming to have a patent that is affordable for everyone regardless of socioeconomic background. We have created a preliminary design of our product with a 3D printer, that we think can reduce the costs of the product greatly, by making production fast and affordable.

An interesting aspect to consider is how an individual can be seen as ‘strong’ if they can take a lot of stress and still function or how an individual can be considered ‘weak’ if the stress can cause serious harm and cannot be tolerated over long periods of time. The idea and aspiration behind the stress monitoring patch is to assist patients with long-term diseases as well as people who require monitoring as a preventative measure from their health professional. Thus, any distinction between weak and strong might be a result of an individual perspective but not a medical one. Stress is affecting people differently in today’s society and we are already seeing the so called ‘strong’ stress affected people be critical of people they consider ‘weak’ due to how stress affects them in everyday life. This is part of the human condition and although we do not wish to create a device that broadens the divide and makes people more critical to stress than they already are, we wish to continue with its creation and try to make it as robust as possible against misuse from anyone that is not the individual using it and their direct health care provider.

Autonomy

How our product will affect the autonomy of the user is something that we cannot know and better understand at this stage of our stress wearable patch development. Further testing and human trials are needed to see and investigate the potential harms and future benefits it might have on people that use our patch actively. This includes the effects of personal mindset and mentality against the patch and the results it generates.

State and government policies on our patch, though sound intimidating and can be potentially used for the detriment of the users, we aim to turn them to their benefit instead. People are struggling to convince state regulators and the government on the effect of stress to this day. Although possible future outcomes of using the patch may seem restricting, for some it might be a relief to be able to have proof of their stress and to receive the benefits they deserve due to their conditions.

Privacy and Third-Party Misuse

Regarding the privacy and third-party misuse concerns, we must admit that this is an aspect that we are concerned about. In our perception and expectation for our own product the health data is meant to be private for the individual and their health care provider - just like any other health data is and should be. Thus, there is no obligation to disclose this kind of health data to employers or other non-concerning individuals, which should prevent discrimination.

Health insurance claims are most likely to be rejected especially in places where healthcare is profit oriented. Due to our bias of knowing the European system better than the Asian, Oceanian, African or American one, we can limitedly comment on this. In Europe, Health Benefits given after a careful examination by a health care professional cannot be questioned by the insurance as very often the insurance is government based and the benefits are given as they are rightfully assigned to the individual that is struggling. Further look into health insurances in America, will often show the opposite, as private medical insurances are free to reject a claim no matter the position and opinion of the health care professional. 1

Furthermore, as we have already discussed, our design is aiming to be visually as similar to existing glucose monitoring devices as possible to disallow a distinction between stress monitoring and monitoring in diabetes, which would aid in maintaining privacy. In an ideal scenario among various available devices like these, especially if many people make use of them, there is no clear saying for what reason someone wears it.

Our 3D-Printed Cortisol Monitoring Device

Our 3D-printed cortisol monitoring device is a reflection of our team’s dedication to creating accessible, user-friendly technology. We believe that our design will be a significant step forward in cortisol monitoring, and we hope to further refine the device with real-world testing.

Photo of model
Sources

1. Helfo. European Health Insurance Card. [Internet]. Oslo: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; updated Friday, January 5, 2024 [retrieved Wednesday, October 2, 2024].