Some people are very aware of their water intake. They track their sips through the ticks on the sides of their water bottles or their trips to the water cooler at work. However, some people are unaware of the water they’re drinking, and whether they’re drinking it at all. They couldn’t tell you when they took their last swig — whether it was a few hours or a few minutes ago.
Now, a team from the University of Texas at Austin has developed a new device to help those who struggle with tracking their hydration. Described in a study in PNAS, the device — which is wearable and non-invasive — assesses a wearer’s hydration levels during their day-to-day activities, both continuously and contemporaneously. The device could be used to tamp down on dehydration, a condition that can cause anything from mild thirst to severe heatstroke, especially during the hottest days of the summer.
“Dehydration is a silent threat that affects millions of people every day,” said Nanshu Lu, a study author and a professor of engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, according to a press release. “Our wearable sensor provides a simple, effective way to monitor hydration levels in real time, empowering individuals to take proactive steps to stay healthy and perform at their best.”
Read More: From a Healthy Heart to Improved Mood, Here's How Water Gives Your Body a Boost
An Alternative Test for Daily Dehydration
Of course, hydration is vital for a variety of our physiological processes, from regulating body temperature to the functioning of our organs. But dehydration is common, impairing our cognitive function and physical performance in mild cases and contributing to life-threatening conditions, such as cardiovascular issues, in the most severe.
Though the cause of dehydration — an imbalance between the body’s input and output of water — is easy enough to understand, there aren’t that many methods for determining whether the body is getting the hydration it needs. At least, there aren’t that many methods that are practical for everyday use.
Indeed, while medical tests involve the invasive and time-intensive analysis of blood and urine, commercial tests can be bulky and difficult to transport, making them both impractical for constant, real-time monitoring.
To address this, the team behind the new device turned to bioimpedance, a method that measures the body’s composition by gauging its conductivity of electrical currents. Composed of electrodes and a sensor, the device — wireless, small, and worn safely on the arm — sends electrical currents through the appendage, which are conducted differently depending on the amount of water in the arm’s tissues. Transmitting its measurements to a smartphone, the device ultimately allows users to keep an eye on their hydration.
Read More: This is How Much Water You Should Actually Be Drinking Each Day
Putting the Device to the Test
To confirm that the device works, the team completed both a free-living and a dehydration study. In the former, participants wore the device throughout their day, while in the latter, participants took diuretics to induce dehydration, then had their hydration monitored using both the device and a traditional urine test. The results revealed a strong similarity between the results of the device and the urine test, showing that the device was an accurate method for not only measuring the water in the arm, but in the body as a whole.
“Our experiments demonstrated that arm bioimpedance is not only sensitive to hydration changes but also aligns closely with whole-body hydration measurements,” said Matija Jankovic, a study author and a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, according to the release. “This means the sensor can be a reliable surrogate for tracking hydration levels, even during everyday activities like walking, working, or exercising.”
The team plans to conduct more tests in the hopes that this device could one day protect people from dehydration in their daily lives. The researchers are also investigating alternative setups for their device, including e-tattoos and wearable devices, which would enhance its performance and comfort for people on the go.
“This is just the beginning,” Lu said in the release. “Our goal is to make simple hydration monitoring accessible to everyone.”
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only.
Article Sources
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Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
