Sport: an armband to manage hydration
The BeOne connected armband is the result of thesis work carried out in collaboration with BeLab.
During physical exertion, the body’s temperature rises, and it gets rid of excess heat by evaporating sweat from the surface of the skin. In the case of long, intense physical activity, this sweating can lead to dehydration, which is currently difficult to effectively prevent.. Managing water loss is important in sport, as it affects both performance and post-exercise recovery.
Founded by University of Lille researcher Jean-Philippe Garnier, BeLab has been developing technologies for the physiological measurement of sweat, and in particular its salt content, which is an indicator that needs to be taken into account when optimising hydration for athletes, since 2016. After developing adhesive patches capable of analysing sweat biomarkers, the company is now going one step further by attempting to measure water loss even more precisely, in order to offer live hydration advice during physical exertion. For almost a year now, Antoine Ferrari has been working on optimising an armband capable of measuring water loss in real time as part of his thesis at the multi-disciplinary Sport, Health and Society research unit (Urepsss).
‘The principle is relatively simple: during exercise, perspiration is collected by the armband, which is placed against the forearm. Sweat flows along a microfluidic channel to be analysed at two points, enabling a flow velocity to be determined. Using various equations, it then becomes possible to estimate a precise volume of water loss’, explains the student researcher. Depending on the results, the connected armband then sends notifications to the wearer with hydration advice: what to drink (including how much salt to add based on the measured salt loss), when and, most importantly, how much.
A world first, this armband is just starting to be marketed, and tests are still underway to verify the product’s functionality under different conditions (different exercise intensities or environmental conditions). This technology was presented at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the world’s largest trade show dedicated to technological innovation in consumer electronics. It is expected to appeal not only to athletes, but also to other sectors, such as geriatrics and the military. ■