Chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is degradation of peripheral and autonomic nerves that causes pain, numbness, and weakness in response to cancer treatment by toxic chemical agents. Severity is correlated with type of agent, dosage and patient susceptibility. Measuring onset and severity of CIPN requires new highly sensitive, quantitative techniques. Sudomotor nerves that control secretion of sweat glands are part of the autonomic nervous system. Their pathology reflects the degree of nerve damage to adjacent autonomic and somatic nerves. By simultaneously measuring changes of sweat volume and rate of 200 individual sweat glands, our device detects nerve damage earlier and more quantitatively than by existing methods [1]. The oncologist can begin protective measures early, before substantial nerve degeneration occurs, when treatment is most effective.
The sweat device consists of a grid sweat analyzer and insulated gate field effect transistors (IGFETs) shown in Fig. 1. The sweat detector...
