Electrozyme to make wearable devices play alternative data: sweat monitoring

When you are exercising, you will sweat and sweat will help your body cool down. In addition, sweat contains some valuable data.

It is for this reason that Joshua Windmiller and Jared Tangney set up a start-up company named Electrozyme. The company is focused on making a "strap" that has a biometric sensor, a "strap" that can contact your skin's surface and take out chemical information from your sweat to show you how your body reacts after strenuous exercise.

The device can quickly analyze the chemical composition of sweat and then provide feedback on water cooperation, fluid loss and electrolyte balance. In Thursday, Windmiller described the technology at the event Networking summit in San Francisco and said the company was already negotiating to integrate the biosensor into wearable devices such as the existing smart wrist strap and smart watch.

Their goal is to be able to exceed the range of body measurements provided by the available wearable devices. "The data available for wearable devices are similar: steps, heart rate and distance, but the information is very limited," says Windmiller. ”

It works like this: The biosensor strap can be used with a third party fitness tracker, and the strap will be on the back of the tracker, so it touches the wearer's skin. Embedded electrochemical sensors will monitor biological indicators contained in sweat, such as electrolytes, sodium, lactic acid, and protein, to get some indication of your physical condition. The company will provide algorithmic software that can analyze data and provide personalized recommendations for your ongoing workout.

The company will use print sensor technology to develop this "strap", so the "strap" will be cheap, even disposable. In other words, when you feel that a "strap" is soaked by sweat after exercising, you can throw it into the dustbin.

At first, the company wants to tell users when they need to add water, how much you need to drink and whether you should go for a drink or a sports drink. It will warn you when you may have a risk of heatstroke or otherwise generate excessive heat. Windmiller and Tangley are improving the product around the prevention of user cramps. In the future, they also plan to add more features to the product. In addition to the current measurement of electrolyte balance and dehydration, this may include the ability to measure muscle fatigue, physical exertion levels, respiration, and the ph value of the skin.

Although Windmiller and Tangney founded the Electrozyme company in 2012 years, Windmiller was a postdoctoral student of electrical engineering at the University of California, San Diego, and has been working on electrochemical sensors for four years. So far, the platform has been tested on the ground by hundreds of strategic partners from Fortune 100. Testers are interested in the platform, according to the two-bit co-founder.

Currently, they plan to release the Electrozyme platform before the middle of 2015, and the equipment to integrate the technology will arrive by the end of 2015. This "strap" will only be connected to a device that is approved for the platform.