Latest news with #Epicore
Sky News
30-06-2025
- Health
- Sky News
Jackets laced with water pipes and smart bottles - the tech solutions to the heatwave
Heatwaves and hot days may often be described as "good weather", but heat can have a dangerous effect on the human body. From heat exhaustion to heat stroke, dehydration to water toxicity, it can be a minefield trying to stay cool - so the tech world is coming up with its own solutions to overheating. Getting sweaty - and measuring it Our bodies strive to keep the same core temperature, usually around 37C, but this can vary from person to person. When it is warm outside, our blood vessels open up to try and lose heat to our surroundings. The hypothalamus in the brain also tells sweat glands to start working, and as sweat evaporates from our skin, it carries away heat and lowers our body temperature. Measuring that sweat through wearable tech like patches can offer important clues to knowing when our bodies are overheating. Epicore, a US biotech company, has now developed a patch that measures how much sweat you are producing and the amount of different chemicals, like electrolytes, it contains. Sweat can "indicate the health status of the body at the molecular level" and, because it is so easy to access, it is "ideal for continuous monitoring", according to a 2023 study in Nature. If the sweat patch, which also measures the body's core temperature and movement, senses you are approaching dangerous levels of overheating, it sends alerts to your phone. Heat exhaustion vs. heatstroke They are often used interchangeably by members of the public, but heat exhaustion and heatstroke are two distinct conditions, although both start in the same way. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include tiredness, dizziness, headaches, vomiting, excessive sweating, muscle cramps, and a high body temperature, among others. Heat exhaustion does not usually need emergency medical help if you can cool down within 30 minutes. But when it turns to heatstroke, it becomes dangerous. If someone is still unwell after 30 minutes of resting in a cool place, being cooled and drinking fluids, they may have heatstroke. A very high temperature, hot skin that is not sweating, a fast heartbeat and seizures are all signs it is time to call 999. Chloe Brimicombe, from the Royal Meteorological Society, told Sky News the most effective way to cool down is full-body immersion in lukewarm water. 'Ice water can cause the opposite body response of old shock,' she said. 'Lukewarm showers are also effective.' Staying hydrated - but not too hydrated While it may seem the obvious response, drinking too much water during a heatwave can be harmful. "If you drink in excess, you wash important minerals out of your body," Dr Brimicombe said. When you drink too much, your kidneys can't get rid of the excess and the sodium content of your blood becomes diluted - this is called hyponatremia, and it can be life-threatening. For some people though, just getting enough water is difficult. People with dementia "may forget to drink enough fluids and wear suitable clothing" during the heatwave, according to Angelo Makri, senior knowledge officer for wellbeing at the Alzheimer's Society. There are a number of smart cups and bottles being released onto the market that monitor how much water you are drinking throughout the day. There has not been much academic research into how effective smart bottles are but one study commissioned by the National Kidney Foundation did find that in people with kidney stones, those using the tech were likely to drink more - and forgot to drink less often. A cooling, personal breeze The UK's buildings are not well-designed when it comes to heat, according to Professor Prashant Kumar from the University of Surrey. Poor ventilation means it can be hard to circulate air throughout our buildings, and the lack of greenery in our towns and cities can make the heat feel more unbearable. But while there are long-term solutions like better city planning or retrofitted buildings, it may be more efficient to simply cool the air around you, instead of trying to cool the whole room. In Japan, inventor Ichigaya Hiroshi has been trying to keep workers cool by using their clothes since the 1990s. Rather than cooling down whole rooms or buildings, he told Japan's government PR office that he wanted to "cool the air around each person" as it would take much less energy. He experimented with jackets laced with water pipes but found they leaked on people, and moved on to stitching miniature fans into the backs of workers' clothing. Now, air-conditioned clothes are all the rage in the country, according to Vogue, and even hit the high-fashion catwalks of Paris Fashion Week last October. But if a ballooning, air-filled jacket won't cut it at your office, more discreet options have also been invented. Fans that hang around your neck and blast cool air onto your face are a common sight on public transport in the UK during the summer, and Sony has now taken it a step further. The Japanese tech giant has developed the Reon cooling system; a metal plate that sits between your shoulder blades and cools your core. It is marketed towards office workers who can wear the system underneath shirts and blouses, although it is still visible at the top of the collar. A small clip-tag sits on the outside of the shirt to measure the air temperature, and the device automatically adjusts how hot or cold it is, depending on your environment. All this tech may help keep you cool but, as Professor Kumar pointed out, at the moment, the UK is only hot for a few weeks a year (although global warming indicates that may increase). 1:56 Research released last week showed the UK had bought 7.1 million mini-fans in the last year, but at the same time binned, or didn't use, 3.4 million of them. So as temperatures rise, it remains unclear whether the development of smart tech means it has now reached the point where it is likely to become a widespread tool in the ongoing battle to keep cool - or if a lukewarm shower will continue to suffice for most of us.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DuPont and Epicore Biosystems Collaborate to Advance Worker Safety Through Smart Wearable Technology
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WILMINGTON, Del., May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicore Biosystems (Epicore), a digital health solutions leader developing advanced sweat-sensing wearables, and DuPont Personal Protection (DuPont) (NYSE: DD), a global leader in personal protection solutions, have agreed to work together to explore opportunities to potentially enhance worker safety and well-being. Drawing on DuPont's expertise in protective garments and Epicore's wearable hydration management technology, this collaboration can help to drive new data analytics and quantitative insights at the intersection of advanced biometrics and personal protective clothing. Rising temperatures and extreme climate conditions contribute to cognitive and physical decline, particularly in physically demanding industries. A 2024 Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings underscores the growing regulatory attention in this area. As a result, personalized hydration and physiologically driven safety measures are critical to mitigate the risks of heat exhaustion and stress. Epicore's Connected Hydration wearable solution1 provides real-time hydration and physiological tracking. In combination with DuPont's personal protective clothing, these biometric data streams and personalized recommendations have the potential to offer unparalleled insights about worker safety under various work conditions. "We are thrilled to collaborate with DuPont to unlock new worker safety applications for our Connected Hydration platform," said Matt Marrapode, Vice President of Strategy at Epicore Biosystems. "Our overarching goal is to empower workers with personalized hydration insights, enabling them to perform at their best while minimizing risks associated with dehydration and heat exposure. This collaboration with DuPont represents an important step toward combining wearable hydration management solutions with personal protective equipment." Epicore's Connected Hydration platform1 is the first smart wearable solution in the market that helps workers proactively manage their hydration and recovery using sweat-sensing technology. Connected Hydration has been broadly deployed across North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East in sports, wellness, and industrial settings. By integrating Epicore's data-driven health monitoring solutions with DuPont's portfolio of personal protective clothing, the companies are uniquely positioned to explore new individualized strategies to support workers in high-risk environments requiring protective gear. "Our mission at DuPont is to protect workers and to help ensure their well-being in the workplace. Collaborating with Epicore Biosystems enables our team to explore advanced biometrics in tandem with our industry-leading personal protective solutions," said Liz Briggs, Global Marketing Manager at DuPont. The collaboration reflects DuPont and Epicore's shared commitment to advancing breakthrough innovations that address workers' hydration and safety needs. Both companies are helping to set the stage for a future whereby smart wearable technologies and personal protective equipment play a crucial and integrated role in the workplace. To learn more about Epicore Biosystems and its suite of wearable technology, visit For more on DuPont Personal Protection, visit About Epicore Biosystems: Epicore Biosystems is a digital health company spun out of Northwestern University's Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics and the John Rogers Laboratory. Epicore has developed advanced sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalized health insights. Their clinically validated biowearable solutions and cloud analytics are deployed globally and licensed by leading Fortune 500 companies, the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health. To learn more, visit: Follow Epicore on LinkedIn. 1 About DuPont: DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, healthcare and worker safety. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at This information is based upon technical data that DuPont believes to be reliable. It is subject to revision as additional knowledge and experience become available. It is the user's responsibility to determine the level of toxicity and the proper personal protective equipment needed. The information set forth herein reflects laboratory performance of fabrics, not complete garments, under controlled conditions. This information is intended for use by persons having the technical expertise to undertake evaluation under their own specific end-use conditions, at their own discretion and risk. Anyone intending to use this information should first check that the garment selected is suitable for the intended use. The end-user should discontinue use of garment if fabric becomes torn, worn or punctured, to avoid potential chemical exposure. Since conditions of use are beyond our control, DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ASSUME NO LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT OR INFORMATION. This information is not intended as a license to operate under or a recommendation to infringe any trademark, patent or technical information of DuPont or other persons covering any material or its use. © 2025 DuPont. All rights reserved. DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with ™, ℠ or ® are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. 05/2025 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Epicore Biosystems, Inc. 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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DuPont and Epicore Biosystems Collaborate to Advance Worker Safety Through Smart Wearable Technology
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WILMINGTON, Del., May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicore Biosystems (Epicore), a digital health solutions leader developing advanced sweat-sensing wearables, and DuPont Personal Protection (DuPont) (NYSE: DD), a global leader in personal protection solutions, have agreed to work together to explore opportunities to potentially enhance worker safety and well-being. Drawing on DuPont's expertise in protective garments and Epicore's wearable hydration management technology, this collaboration can help to drive new data analytics and quantitative insights at the intersection of advanced biometrics and personal protective clothing. Rising temperatures and extreme climate conditions contribute to cognitive and physical decline, particularly in physically demanding industries. A 2024 Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings underscores the growing regulatory attention in this area. As a result, personalized hydration and physiologically driven safety measures are critical to mitigate the risks of heat exhaustion and stress. Epicore's Connected Hydration wearable solution1 provides real-time hydration and physiological tracking. In combination with DuPont's personal protective clothing, these biometric data streams and personalized recommendations have the potential to offer unparalleled insights about worker safety under various work conditions. "We are thrilled to collaborate with DuPont to unlock new worker safety applications for our Connected Hydration platform," said Matt Marrapode, Vice President of Strategy at Epicore Biosystems. "Our overarching goal is to empower workers with personalized hydration insights, enabling them to perform at their best while minimizing risks associated with dehydration and heat exposure. This collaboration with DuPont represents an important step toward combining wearable hydration management solutions with personal protective equipment." Epicore's Connected Hydration platform1 is the first smart wearable solution in the market that helps workers proactively manage their hydration and recovery using sweat-sensing technology. Connected Hydration has been broadly deployed across North America, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East in sports, wellness, and industrial settings. By integrating Epicore's data-driven health monitoring solutions with DuPont's portfolio of personal protective clothing, the companies are uniquely positioned to explore new individualized strategies to support workers in high-risk environments requiring protective gear. "Our mission at DuPont is to protect workers and to help ensure their well-being in the workplace. Collaborating with Epicore Biosystems enables our team to explore advanced biometrics in tandem with our industry-leading personal protective solutions," said Liz Briggs, Global Marketing Manager at DuPont. The collaboration reflects DuPont and Epicore's shared commitment to advancing breakthrough innovations that address workers' hydration and safety needs. Both companies are helping to set the stage for a future whereby smart wearable technologies and personal protective equipment play a crucial and integrated role in the workplace. To learn more about Epicore Biosystems and its suite of wearable technology, visit For more on DuPont Personal Protection, visit About Epicore Biosystems: Epicore Biosystems is a digital health company spun out of Northwestern University's Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics and the John Rogers Laboratory. Epicore has developed advanced sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalized health insights. Their clinically validated biowearable solutions and cloud analytics are deployed globally and licensed by leading Fortune 500 companies, the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health. To learn more, visit: Follow Epicore on LinkedIn. 1 About DuPont: DuPont (NYSE: DD) is a global innovation leader with technology-based materials and solutions that help transform industries and everyday life. Our employees apply diverse science and expertise to help customers advance their best ideas and deliver essential innovations in key markets including electronics, transportation, construction, water, healthcare and worker safety. More information about the company, its businesses and solutions can be found at Investors can access information included on the Investor Relations section of the website at This information is based upon technical data that DuPont believes to be reliable. It is subject to revision as additional knowledge and experience become available. It is the user's responsibility to determine the level of toxicity and the proper personal protective equipment needed. The information set forth herein reflects laboratory performance of fabrics, not complete garments, under controlled conditions. This information is intended for use by persons having the technical expertise to undertake evaluation under their own specific end-use conditions, at their own discretion and risk. Anyone intending to use this information should first check that the garment selected is suitable for the intended use. The end-user should discontinue use of garment if fabric becomes torn, worn or punctured, to avoid potential chemical exposure. Since conditions of use are beyond our control, DUPONT DE NEMOURS AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ASSUME NO LIABILITY IN CONNECTION WITH ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT OR INFORMATION. This information is not intended as a license to operate under or a recommendation to infringe any trademark, patent or technical information of DuPont or other persons covering any material or its use. © 2025 DuPont. All rights reserved. DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with ™, ℠ or ® are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. 05/2025 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Epicore Biosystems, Inc.
