Chelsea Monty-Bromer, is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of RooSense, LLC. She joined us at CES 2020 to tell us about their health tech solution to help athletes "sweat smarter."

RooSense, LLC - so named because it's a start-up company based on research from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Akron (Go Roos!) - is an integrated fabric sensor that can analyze an athlete's sweat in real time and provide personalized hydration recommendations based on the data. The biggest problem athletes face, said Monty-Bromer, is the challenge of having to guess what their actual hydration needs are and to hydrate accordingly.

Because sports drinks are so popular, it is also possible over-hydrate by diluting the sodium in your body too much. With RooSense, there's no guessing. The fabric sensor analyses the components of an athlete's sweat - specifically sodium ion concentrations - and provides real-time, precise recommendations through the accompanying app to ensure proper hydration, leading to better performance, health and competitive success.

Data from the app can be transmitted to a smart watch or phone, and can be monitored by coaches of teams as well as by individual athletes. Currently the fabric is embroidered into compression sleeves worn on the forearm. But it can also be utilized in a patch, sewn into a t-shirt, deployed in shoe inserts, stitched into a headband or whatever an athlete is comfortable wearing. Right now, it transmits via Bluetooth, but will eventually work with wifi or RF. There are obvious applications of the technology for use in things like Hazmat suits and firefighter gear, in which temperatures can soar, leaving emergency personnel at serious risk of dehydration.

The product is coming to market in 2021, and is currently seeking partners and investors. You can learn more at their website.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.