Company Profile

Cantimer Incorporated is a company focusing on assessment of human hydration using effective and innovative sensor technology. Cantimer is commercializing a patented, proprietary, sensor technology platform based on a unique convergence of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology and advanced polymer science. Hydration Measurement and Monitoring Numerous studies have shown that adequate hydration is essential to health, wellness and optimal physical and cognitive performance in humans. Hydration affects how well we feel, how well we are and how well we can perform. Under normal circumstances, the body self–regulates to a normal, healthy state of fluid balance. However hydration issues are common (particularly dehydration), caused by prolonged exercise, environmental stress, the natural process of aging, chronic or acute medical conditions, and a broad array of medications, such as diuretics. The effects of dehydration range from unnoticed to life threatening, and if unchecked, can become the major problem in an otherwise self–limited illness. There is no single, universally accepted and clinically relevant method of testing for dehydration. Methods that are used – both observational and quantitative – are inadequate, inconvenient, and/or invasive and time–consuming. Some involve the analysis of body weight and composition. Others are based on urine or blood parameters, requiring special equipment and trained technicians. None of them, whether used alone or in combination, have been shown to provide the clinically–relevant, point–of–care results required for widespread use. The need for an easy to operate, accurate, non–invasive, point–of–care hydration measurement device that enables timely intervention and treatment of fluid imbalance is clear and compelling. Potential markets for such a device include professional, collegiate and recreational sports, medical and home health settings for the elderly and the very young, the Military, and firefighters and other incident-scene first responders. Cantimer’s sensor platform represents a convergence of micro–electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology and advanced polymer science. Each sensor incorporates a silicon microcantilever (dimensions 300µ by 50µ by 3µ) embedded in a tiny droplet (~0.1µL) of an agent-selective, proprietary polymer. When exposed to the chemical or biological agent for which it is designed, the polymer changes volume, creating movement in the microcantiliver that generates a resistance change that can be measured. Microcantilever strains of only a few Ångstroms are measurable, enabling potential detection sensitivities of just a few molecules. The simplicity and elegance of Cantimer’s approach facilitates the development of small, portable and reusable, rapid-response detection and measurement systems. The Company has already demonstrated proof of principle for the rapid, convenient and quantitative detection and measurement of viruses, single strand DNA, proteins, pH and a variety of biomarkers, including sodium, potassium, glucose, urea and ethanol. The Company’s platform is flexible, convenient, easy to use, and requires little or no capital outlay for end–users.