SBIR Phase I: Wearable Fabric Sensor for Monitoring Hydration

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是检测实时健康风险(例如中暑、血糖)。总体而言，从开发的传感器收集的数据可以更好地了解健康和疾病过程，包括对常见糖尿病神经并发症的分析、囊性纤维化(CF)的诊断，以及用于高级假肢应用、卧床不起的患者或运动员表现跟踪的汗液监测，从而为所有患者提供更好的治疗和健康结果。这项拟议的技术是第一个轻型织物传感器，通过选择性地测定钠水平来提供运动或训练期间水合水平的实时信息，钠水平是运动成绩、安全和受伤的更好标志。最初的应用将是监测耐力运动员的补水情况。仅在美国，每年就有大约1760万耐力运动员越过终点线。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将专注于开发可穿戴式补水监测器的原型，在实验室对原型进行验证，以及在运动生理学实验室进行身体测试。需要良好管理的水合作用和实时监测生理参数，这不仅对运动员优化表现至关重要，而且对防止疾病和受伤的发生也至关重要。对运动员来说，了解汗液流失和计算水分需求以避免脱水或过度水合是一项重大挑战。这是因为不同运动员的汗液流失量有很大的不同，无论是电解质浓度还是汗液流失总量。出汗时，一个人每升可能会损失少至200毫克的钠，或多至2000毫克的钠。这种差异，再加上汗量的显著差异，导致个人对水分的需求存在巨大差异，将通过建议的设备来解决。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to detect real-time health risks (e.g. heat stroke, glucose). In general, the data collected from the developed sensor could lead to better understanding of health and disease processes, including the analysis of common diabetic neurological complications, the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF), and sweat monitoring for advanced prosthetic limb applications, bedridden patients, or athlete performance tracking leading to better treatments and health outcomes for all patients. The proposed technology is the first lightweight fabric sensor to provide real-time information regarding hydration levels during exercise or training through selective determination of sodium levels, a better marker for athletic performance, safety, and injury. Initial applications will be to monitor hydration for endurance athletes. Approximately 17.6 million endurance athletes cross the finish line each year, in the US alone. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will focus on the development of a prototype wearable hydration monitor, validation of the prototype in the laboratory, and body testing in an exercise physiology laboratory. The need for well-managed hydration and the monitoring of physiological parameters in real-time is not only crucial for athletes to optimize performance but to also prevent illness and injury from occurring. Understanding sweat loss and calculating hydration requirements to avoid dehydration or overhydration is a significant challenge for athletes. This is because sweat losses vary significantly from athlete to athlete both in terms of concentration of electrolytes and total volume of sweat lost. When sweating, an individual may lose as little as ~200mg of sodium per liter or as much as ~2000 mg. This variance, combined with significant differences in sweat volume, lead to vastly different hydration requirements among individuals, to be addressed with the proposed device.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.