Drink up: Researchers develop wearable to track hydration

Researchers from North Carolina State University in Raleigh have developed a wireless wearable sensor capable of tracking skin hydration in real-time and sends wearer information to a mobile platform.

Using two elastic polymer electrodes, the wearable is able to monitor the electrical properties of the skin to predict changes in the wearers hydration levels. The wearable can be worn as with a chest patch or wristwatch, making it a much more mobile version of current large hydration monitors, and sends real-time data to a laptop, tablet or smartphone.

"We have developed technology that allows us to track an individual's skin hydration in real time," said Yong Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at N.C. State and co-corresponding author of the paper. "Our sensor could be used to protect the health of people working in hot conditions, improve athletic performance and safety, and to track hydration in older adults or in medical patients suffering from various conditions. It can even be used to tell how effective skin moisturizers are for cosmetics."

The mobile platform can then be shared by the user with physicians, coaches and other third parties.

"The commercially available monitor we tested our system against costs more than $8,000," said Shanshan Yao, a PhD student at N.C. State and lead author of the paper. "Our sensor costs about one dollar, and the overall manufacturing cost of the wearable systems we developed would be no more than a common wearable device."