September 30, 2022
Digital health company Epicore Biosystems, which has developed sweat-sensing wearables that monitor hydration in real time, has entered into a partnership with with 3M's Health Care Business and medtech manufacturer Innovize Inc. By leveraging 3M's skin-interfacing materials and Innovize's manufacturing capabilities, Epicore said it will further scale its portfolio of advanced wearable hydration solutions.
Epicore cited global supply-chain disruptions as a reason for pursuing the collaboration. “It is critical for companies in industries like healthcare to avoid logistical bottlenecks that could affect the development and delivery of medical devices. Our collaboration with 3M and Innovize ensures that Epicore Biosystems has a strong domestic production infrastructure," said Jeffrey Model, Chief Product Officer and co-founder. "We're thrilled to collaborate with material science and manufacturing powerhouses as we expand our suite of clinically validated, sweat-sensing products and pave the way for the future of noninvasive health-tracking wearables."
Epicore Biosystems’ technology measures sweat biometrics and provides personalized insights about hydration, including sweat rate, total sweat loss, electrolyte concentration, bioanalyte loss, skin temperature, and motion. The data is captured through a wearable device and is analyzed via a proprietary cloud engine and delivered directly to the wearer through a smartphone app and cloud portal.
3M provides more than a half-dozen medical-grade materials for the wearable. Innovize processes the materials in the form of thin polymer sheets in what is called a roll-to-roll (R2R) method. Resembling a newspaper printing press, the high-throughput process turns the materials into functional micro-fluidic components and finished products, said Epicore.
"From materials selection to process development and high-volume production, Innovize is dedicated to collaborating with partners who are at the forefront of innovation in their respective industries," said Dave Jessen, owner and Vice President, Sales and Marketing, at Innovize. "We're excited to be part of the disruption Epicore Biosystems is igniting in the wearables sector and look forward to growing our partnership as we continue executing on its personalized hydration management products."
Epicore Biosystems' technology has been developed and tested with leading sports physiology labs and research hospitals, including the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Korey Stringer Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Human Health and Performance, and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
Its GX Sweat Patch was developed in partnership with PepsiCo and Gatorade.
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