BRISBANE, Australia and NEW YORK, March 20, 2025
WearOptimo, a healthcare technology company, has unveiled impressive clinical trial data for its innovative wearable hydration sensor. The data, presented at the LSI USA ’25 Emerging Medtech Summit, showcases the sensor’s ability to accurately detect hydration levels, outperforming the traditional needle-based methods.
Groundbreaking Hydration Monitoring
The study, conducted at Queensland University of Technology, compared WearOptimo’s Microwearable Hydration sensor to established methods of measuring hydration, such as serum osmolarity and urine analysis. The key finding was that the Microwearable sensor excelled at detecting mild dehydration, a condition often difficult to assess accurately with existing methods.
The study’s results mark a significant advancement in hydration monitoring
The clinical study involved 90 participant sessions. The results demonstrated the Microwearable’s superior accuracy in detecting mild dehydration compared to the ‘gold standard’ of blood draws. The sensor achieves this without causing pain and involves no skin interaction.
Dr. Mark Kendall, CEO and Founder of WearOptimo, highlighted the significance of these findings. “To our knowledge, this is the only clinically proven wearable sensor capable of accurately monitoring hydration.” He further explained that the sensor uses microelectrodes to generate high-fidelity signals, amplified by AI and data analytics, creating the first clinical digital biomarker for hydration monitoring.
The Microwearable sensor has the potential to address various “mis-hydration” problems, including chronic mild dehydration, a health concern linked to a 21% increase in mortality rates. WearOptimo plans to advance the sensor for real-time, continuous monitoring in a user-friendly format, which represents a substantial improvement over blood assays that require laboratory analysis.
The Technology Behind the Sensor
The Microwearable Hydration Sensor uses localized impedance measurements to monitor hydration changes in real-time. The minimally invasive sensor uses microelectrodes inserted just a hair’s width into the skin. By passing a small alternating current, the sensor detects changes in the skin’s impedance characteristics. This allows the sensor to detect and alert users to their hydration status. The study assessed the sensor’s ability to detect changes in skin impedance against variations in systemic hydration.
To assess the sensor, each of the study’s 45 participants attended two sessions with light exercise. In one, participants did light exercise in a hot and dry environment with continuous fluid replacement. In the other, participants restricted fluids for 24 hours, followed by exercise in a hot and dry environment. Researchers recorded various hydration measures, including weight changes and blood and urine samples. The primary endpoint was to evaluate the Microwearable’s hydration monitoring performance.
About WearOptimo
WearOptimo focuses on the development of next-generation wearable technology enhanced by AI to transform hydration and biomarker monitoring. The company’s Microwearable hydration monitor is a “sticker-like” skin patch that uses AI to measure data points that conventional wearables can’t collect, offering minimally-invasive and pain-free monitoring. The technology detects specific biosignals and biomarkers directly, translating them in real-time actionable wellness and health insights. WearOptimo’s technology has applications in elite sports, military, and industrial sectors. The company is led by biomedical engineer Dr. Mark Kendall, with an advisory board including Dr. Bob Langer, co-founder of Moderna.
For more information, visit https://wearoptimo.com/ and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter (X).
Company Contacts:
Dr. Mark Kendall [email protected]
Media Contacts:
Rachelle Babb, Ph.D. or Sean Naughton, Ph.D. Russo Partners, LLC [email protected] [email protected]