Is there a simple way to know your hydration level?
 

Not really.
 

It's a surprising reality, considering our bodies are composed of roughly 60% water.
 

When you consider that half of all people drink less than recommended and that chronic dehydration leads to an increased risk of chronic diseases and premature mortality, it becomes clear that monitoring this parameter daily is a public health imperative.
 

The good news is that Mark Kendall and his team at WearOptimo have developed a technology that could be a game-changer.
 

It's a wearable sensor, similar to a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) patch, capable of continuously and non-invasively measuring our body's water content at any given moment—a technological feat that relies on one of our largest water reservoirs: our skin.
 

In this episode, we unpack how Mark and his team developed this sensor and explore the science behind how it works.
 

We discuss what this could change for our understanding of human physiology, not only in extreme situations for elite athletes but, more importantly, in our everyday lives.
 

Join us for an episode on the fundamental role of water in the body, the skin's critical role in its regulation, and the window of opportunity this organ opens for sensing other essential molecules right from its surface!
 

Timeline:

• 00:00:00 - Mark’s journey as a biomedical engineer creating technologies for drug delivery and sensing through the skin

• 00:05:10 - The dehydration pandemic and the opportunity around hydration sensing

• 00:12:34 - Building a skin patch to monitor hydration levels with clinical-grade precision and no needle

• 00:22:47 - Relevant use cases for the WearOptimo sensor and complementarity with other wearables

• 00:25:40 - Going toward one wearable platform to measure multiple biomarkers at once

• 00:27:20 - The next steps for WearOptimo and scaling up its commercialisation efforts

• 00:29:55 - Working alongside ex-Formula 1 driver Mark Webber to understand hydration in elite athletes

• 00:34:10 - Mark’s tips and tricks to stay hydrated
   

What we also talked about with Mark:

• Gates Foundation

• Nanopatch

• Continuous Glucose Monitoring

• Whole-body impedance

• Formula 1

• Mark Webber

• Oscar Piastri

• Prof. Robert Langer

• Moderna
   

We mentioned with Mark some of the past episodes of the series:

• #39 - Crafting the best connected health experience - Matthieu Menanteau - Withings

• #23 - Disrupting the smart wearables industry - Leo Grünstein - Spiden

• #11 - Turning the lab into a wearable platform - Esmeralda Megally - Xsensio

As suggested by Mark during the episode, you can learn more about the long-term health outcomes associated with hydration status by reading the paper from Natalia I. Dmitrieva et al. published in Nature Reviews Nephrology in 2024.
 

You can also watch Mark’s TED Talk about the Nanopatch, the needle-free immunisation technology that he pioneered, on YouTube.
 

You can get in touch with Mark via LinkedIn, and follow WearOptimo’s activities on their website, LinkedIn, and X.
 

✉️ If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email!
 

⭐️ And if you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms!
 

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