Nix Biosensors is celebrating the launch of its first commercial product.
The Boston startup is now selling a wearable biosensor to analyze sweat and provide endurance athletes with personalized hydration data in real time.
"Athletes are acutely aware of the importance of proper hydration for performance and safety, but have never had the proper tools until now," Meridith Cass, founder and CEO of Nix, said in a statement. "Nix eliminates the traditional trial-and-error approach to hydrating – athletes can now get precise, personalized hydration metrics, telling them exactly when, what, and how much to drink."
Nix’s physical products include a disposable patch that adheres to the user’s arm and an electronic pod that attaches to the patch. The company said the patch can analyze the user’s fluid and electrolyte losses during exercise and the pod sends that data to Nix’s app. The app can integrate with the Apple Watch and Garmin sport watches. Nix said the pod weighs less than .5 ounces and has a 36-hour battery life.
A package that includes one pod, four patches, one charger case and one USB cable costs $129. A four-pack of patches costs $25.
While athletes can use this data to inform real-time hydration decisions as they exercise, Cass previously told BostInno the hope is that athletes will also use the technology in preparation for a race to inform their strategy and hydration plans.
Nix isn't the only Boston-area company in the patches game. Epicore Biosystems makes wearable, “skin-like” patches that measure biomarkers found in sweat. The patches can track things like hydration, cortisol and glucose levels. Epicore launched its first commercial product in March 2021 with PepsiCo and Gatorade.
Nix’s biosensors were tested by participants at the Boston Marathon for the first time a few years ago. The technology has been worn by big names in the running world like Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray and Paralympic athlete Tatyana McFadden. This year, Cass told BostInno that Nix also worked with amateur athletes by partnering with the running company Tracksmith for its pre-marathon group runs.
Nix is led by Cass, a former entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School. The company has made a series of hires in recent months, including David Renton, the former chief operating officer of Zwift, as interim chief operations officer and chief technology officer; Pratik Patel, the former director of performance nutrition and assistant strength and conditioning coach for the New York Giants, as director of human performance; and Inga Stenta, former head of U.S. marketing at Reebok and Nix’s chief marketing officer.
While the company is focusing on endurance athletes for its first product launch, Nix said it was already piloting its technology with sports teams, the military and laborers and could start selling to these markets as early as 2023.
