SBIR Phase I: Wearable Fabric Sensor for Monitoring Hydration

这项小企业创新研究（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、葡萄糖）。总的来说，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，包括分析常见的糖尿病神经系统并发症、囊性纤维化（CF）的诊断、高级假肢应用的汗液监测、卧床病人或运动员表现跟踪，从而为所有患者提供更好的治疗和健康结果。该技术是第一种轻量级织物传感器，可以在运动或训练期间通过选择性测定钠水平提供有关水合水平的实时信息，钠水平是运动表现、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水分。仅在美国，每年就有大约1760万耐力运动员冲过终点线。这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将重点开发可穿戴水合监测样机，在实验室验证样机，并在运动生理学实验室进行身体测试。良好的补水管理和生理参数的实时监测不仅对运动员优化表现至关重要，而且对预防疾病和损伤的发生也至关重要。了解汗水流失和计算水合需求，以避免脱水或过度水合是运动员的重大挑战。这是因为运动员的失汗量在电解质浓度和失汗总量方面都有很大差异。当出汗时，一个人每升可损失少至200毫克钠，多至2000毫克钠。这种差异，加上汗液量的显著差异，导致个体之间的水合需求存在巨大差异，这需要通过所建议的设备来解决。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.