Track athletes in Ireland preparing for the 2012 Olympics have been testing a device designed to improve performance by optimising their hydration levels during training.
Dehydration can undermine both mental and physical performance, .
Analysis of sweat samples taken after training is unreliable because the key compounds oxidise when in contact with air. 鈥淚t does not give a real measure of what is happening during exercise,鈥� says Fernando Benito Lopez at the at Dublin City University.
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To tackle the problem, Benito Lopez and colleagues have developed a device that assesses hydration levels while athletes are training. It is based on an absorbent pad strapped to the athlete鈥檚 body, which draws sweat through a narrow channel containing pH sensors.
Colour sensors
Benito Lopez is investigating the use of two different types of sensor. One uses a patch of pH-sensitive textile. The other uses an ionic dye which changes colour in the presence of sodium ions.
An LED is used to illuminate the sensor while a second light-sensitive LED detects the colour changes by measuring the intensity of light reflected off it.
The sweat-sensitive barcode can be incorporated into an ordinary adhesive plaster and attached to an athlete鈥檚 arm
The resulting readings, sent wirelessly to the trackside, tell the coach the sodium content of the athlete鈥檚 sweat and therefore their hydration level. Based on this information, the coach can fine-tine the athlete鈥檚 training programme. Initial tests show the pad can continuously monitor pH changes for up to 3 hours.
This could be potentially very useful, says Charlie Pedlar, a research physiologist at the at St Mary鈥檚 University College in Twickenham, UK, who worked with the British Olympic team in Beijing, China, in 2008. 鈥淲e measure body weight before and after training to measure water loss through sweat and breathing,鈥� he says. But he says this does not give enough information to optimise athletes鈥� water intake and avoid dehydration.
Benito Lopez and colleagues are investigating whether it is possible to apply the same approach to lactate, which is also present in sweat.
The device will soon be tested on a rugby team in England.
Details of the research will be presented at next month鈥檚 in Dublin.
