by University of Massachusetts Amherst Connection Hydration is worn on the bicep and contains microchannels and a sensing module that vibrates once they fill with sweat to alert the wearer to rehydrate. Credit: Epicore Biosystems A device for monitoring sweat and hydration based on a rigorous study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is commercially available for the first time and ready to help protect "industrial athletes" from dehydration and its role in workplace accidents.
Researchers at UMass Amherst partnered with Epicore Biosystems, a digital health company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to validate Connected Hydration, a new wearable sweat and hydration monitor by Epicore.
Connected Hydration is designed for "industrial athletes," or people in occupations that require a lot of intense, physical activity, often in hot, humid conditions while wearing personal protective equipment. These environments put workers at risk for dehydration and work accidents.
AJ Aranyosi, chief digital officer and co-founder of Epicore Biosystems, explains that 2% fluid loss by body weight results in cognitive decline.
"When you start to look back through the literature, the root cause of some of these accidents that do occur in industry is heat exhaustion and heat stroke," he says. "Right now, a lot of the national worker safety guidelines put out generic recommendations based on weather conditions and based on an average person, [but] there’s no such thing as an average person. The amount of sweat people will produce, the composition of the sweat—it varies from person to person."
That’s where Connected Hydration comes in. Connected Hydration empowers workers to proactively combat the detrimental effects of dehydration and heat exposure through behavioral insights and better understanding of their personal sweat and electrolyte losses. The device enables users to monitor their hydration levels based on the volume and composition of their sweat. It is worn on the bicep and contains microchannels and a sensing module that vibrates once the channels fill with sweat to alert the wearer to rehydrate.
"Thirst is a very subjective thing," says Aranyosi. "We know from decades of studies on athletes that by the time you feel thirsty you’re already somewhat dehydrated. The other thing […]
Wearable sweat monitor uses machine learning to protect workers from dehydration
