Open Call for Innovative Defense-Related Dual-Purpose Technologies/Solutions with a Clear Air Force Stakeholder Need

Dehydration is a significant threat to war fighter readiness and performance. Bodyweight loss of as little as 1% can lead to both mental and physical impairments. Dehydration affects vigilance, reaction time, and decision making, ultimately compromising mission objectives and flight safety. MX3 Diagnostics has developed the MX3 Hydration Testing System (HTS), the first portable, accurate real-time solution for tracking personal hydration status. The HTS assesses hydration status based on sampling a microliter amount of saliva through a disposable test strip and calculating the salivary osmolarity (SOSM) of an individual. Through multiple physiological and validation studies, we have demonstrated the ability of the MX3 HTS to track dehydration and recovery, with measures provided as accurate as a laboratory grade osmometer. MX3 was designed for athletes and we have established customers in sports and fitness industries today. While it is portable with stand-alone capability, it does lack certain features – such as ruggedization and waterproofing – that the USAF requires for adoption. MX3 believes that by adding these and other key enhancements to the MX3 HTS, the USAF will be able to measure hydration in just about any environment: on-base, in-field, even in flight, thereby improving war fighter safety and performance.