Human Hydration Status Monitor

The incidence of heat related injuries in warfighters has increased 8-fold in the past 20 years. In 2006, Army warfighters sustained 220 heat related injuries; of those 57 were hospitalized, 163 were outpatients and two died. A significant number of these injuries could have been prevent or at least minimized if the subjects were wearing a hydration monitor to help regulate their liquid intake. In this program, Quantum Applied Science and Research (QUASAR) Inc., a leading innovator in wearable electrophysiological measurement systems will develop the first truly non invasive accurate wearable hydration monitoring system, one that needs no action or maintenance by the user, other than to put it on. This new sensor system will unitize compact non contact resonant electromagnetic oscillators to infer the subjects total body water as well as ionic conductivity. The system will provide a direct readout to the user advising him when to drink and if they should consume water or electrolyte. In addition, significant opportunities exist in long term medical monitoring and sports equipment markets, and will be addressed in part via QUASAR's partnerships with Advanced Neurometrics.