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[Sources: suksunt sansawast\/Kolonko\/arthobbit\/istockphoto; DI Studio]<\/p>\n
A North Texas biotech company, working with researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas, has demonstrated a wearable sensor that measures key sleep-related hormones through sweat, offering a new approach to monitoring circadian health beyond today\u2019s consumer wearables.<\/p>\n
UT Dallas bioengineers partnered with Allen-based EnLiSense to evaluate the company\u2019s CORTI wearable platform, a perspiration-based electrochemical sensor that continuously monitors cortisol and melatonin, two hormones that regulate the body\u2019s sleep-wake cycle. The results were published in the October issue of Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X<\/a>, marking the first study to demonstrate circadian rhythmicity of both hormones measured through sweat.<\/p>\n EnLiSense is commercializing the CORTI sensor platform.<\/p>\n Video still: UTD<\/p>\n Moving beyond indirect sleep tracking<\/p>\n Most commercially available sleep wearables estimate sleep quality using indirect signals such as movement, heart rate, or body temperature. The CORTI platform is designed to directly measure biochemical markers tied to wakefulness and sleep.<\/p>\n Cortisol promotes alertness, while melatonin signals the body to prepare for sleep. Measuring both hormones typically relies on saliva samples, which are considered the gold standard but are impractical for continuous monitoring.<\/p>\n \u201cPrecise and continuous evaluation of cortisol and melatonin is essential for understanding and managing circadian health,\u201d Annapoorna Ramasubramanya, a biomedical engineering doctoral student at UT Dallas and first author of the study, said in a statement. \u201cCurrent methods involving salivary samples, however, are inconvenient for continuous monitoring.\u201d<\/p>\n In sleep studies, participants are often awakened multiple times overnight so technicians can collect samples. The sweat-based approach allows hormone levels to be monitored continuously through passive perspiration, with the sweat naturally produced by the body without external stimulation.<\/p>\n Annapoorna Ramasubramanya, a biomedical engineering doctoral student at The University of Texas at Dallas, places a sample on a sensor that measures two key hormones that regulate the body\u2019s sleep-wake cycle. [Photo: UTD]<\/p>\n Study compares sensor data with saliva samples<\/p>\n To evaluate the technology, researchers enrolled 43 participants who wore the sweat-based sensor continuously for 48 hours. During the study, saliva samples were collected 12 times and compared with readings from the wearable device.<\/p>\n Researchers reported that results from both methods closely aligned, supporting the sensor\u2019s ability to track hormone fluctuations over time.<\/p>\n Ramasubramanya\u2019s contribution focused on translating device data into thresholds relevant to stress, wellness, and circadian rhythm monitoring, helping contextualize what hormone fluctuations indicate for users.<\/p>\n Photo: UTD<\/p>\n Commercialization with regional roots<\/p>\n The CORTI device was developed by EnLiSense, a Texas-based biotech company focused on lifestyle-based sensors and wearable health technologies. The UT Dallas study provides peer-reviewed evidence as the company works to bring the platform to market.<\/p>\n Dr. Shalini Prasad, professor and department head of bioengineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at UT Dallas and corresponding author of the study, said the technology contributes to chronobiology, the study of biological rhythms, by providing objective physiological data tied to sleep patterns.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the world we live in today, electronics play such an important role in our sleep quality,\u201d Prasad said. \u201cOur sleep patterns are changing. We don\u2019t have to be shift workers or flying airplanes to throw off our circadian rhythms. Just the fact that we live with so much technology has changed the way and the amount of sleep we are getting.\u201d<\/p>\n Prasad also noted that sleep disruption is closely linked to mental health, an area where continuous hormone monitoring could offer additional insight.<\/p>\n Academic and industry collaboration<\/p>\n The project reflects collaboration between UT Dallas researchers and industry partners. Study co-authors include UT Dallas research scientists and EnLiSense co-founder Dr. Sriram Muthukumar. Prasad is also a co-founder of EnLiSense.<\/p>\n Ramasubramanya received a New Investigator Award in September at the World Sleep Congress 2025 in Singapore, organized by the World Sleep Society.<\/p>\n Researchers said the technology could support future applications in sleep science, stress monitoring, and circadian health as interest grows in wearables that provide more direct physiological data.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss what\u2019s next. Subscribe\u00a0to\u00a0Dallas\u00a0Innovates.<\/p>\n Track Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s business and innovation landscape with our curated news in your inbox Tuesday-Thursday.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \tR E A D\u00a0\u00a0 N E X T\t<\/p>\n \t North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch.\u00a0Here are our editors’ picks. Plus, you’ll find more selections to “save the date.”<\/p>\n \t AI seem overwhelming? Just go to office hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t Could passing the offering basket become a thing of the past in places of worship? Can nonprofits rely on a third-party app to handle fundraising with one click? Givelify, a leading online and mobile giving platform, is doing its best to realize both. And it says that Dallas-Fort Worth alone has now surpassed $300 million in donations by using its services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Givelify is led by Dallas-based co-founder and CEO Wale Mafolasire, a Nigerian immigrant who moved from Indiana to Dallas in 2017. 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