CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF CRP, IL-6, AND CALPROTECTIN IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE USING A PERSPIRATION BASED WEARABLE

Abstract BACKGROUND Wearable sensor devices represent a noninvasive technology to continuously track biomarkers linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We assessed the inflammatory markers associated with IBD in human perspiration. METHODS Participants with IBD were monitored for 40-130 minutes with a proprietary wearable sensor device used to measure C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and calprotectin. Sensor response using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and serum samples were measured on the same day. Mann Whitney test was used to analyze the relationship between active and remission IBD in serum and perspiration, classified according to endoscopic reports and serum biomarker levels. Asynchronously collected fecal calprotectin from a subset of the population was similarly analyzed. RESULTS A total of 33 subjects were enrolled. Expression of CRP in perspiration and serum were comparable between Active and Remission cohorts (p>0.05). Median expression of IL-6 in perspiration was elevated in the Active cohort compared to Remission cohort, and significantly elevated in serum (p<0.05). Expression of calprotectin in perspiration, serum, and stool were significantly elevated in the Active cohort compared to Remission cohort (p<0.05). Temporal data for three ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients provided insight into the basal levels of the markers across different disease states. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the clinical utility of perspiration as a noninvasive medium for continuous measurement of inflammatory markers in IBD and find that the measures correlate with serum and stool markers across a range of disease activity. Positive linear relationship between serum and sweat of all markers. Serum and sweat levels of both Calprotectin and CRP demonstrate strong linear relationship between mediums. Serum and sweat levels of IL6 demonstrate moderate linear relationship and high homoscedasticity.