Wearable facemask-attached disposable printed sensor arrays for point-of-need monitoring of ammonia in breath

Blood sampling, despite its historical significance in clinical diagnostics, poses challenges such as invasiveness, infection risks, and limited temporal fidelity for continuous monitoring. In contrast, exhaled breath offers a non-invasive, pain-free, and continuous sampling method, carrying biochemical information through volatile compounds like ammonia (NH3). NH3 in exhaled breath, influenced by kidney function, emerges as a promising biomarker for renal health assessment, particularly in resource-limited settings lacking extensive healthcare infrastructure. Current analytical methods for breath ammonia, though effective, often face practical limitations. In this work, we introduce a low-cost, internet-connected, paper-based wearable device for measuring exhaled ammonia, designed for early detection of kidney dysfunction at the point-of-need. The device, which attaches to disposable facemasks, utilizes a disposable paper-based sensor array housed in a biodegradable plastic enclosure to mitigate high relative humidity (RH) issues in breath analysis. We validated our technology using a laboratory setup and human subjects who consumed ammonium chloride-containing candy to simulate elevated breath ammonia. Our wearable sensor offers a promising solution for rapid, point-of-need kidney dysfunction screening, particularly valuable in resource-limited settings. This approach has potential applications beyond kidney health monitoring, including chemical industry safety and environmental sensing, paving the way for accessible, continuous health monitoring.