Development of a telemetric heat stress monitor. Final report

Hazardous-materials workers and firefighters wear clothing that protects them from external hazards, but the sealed environment of a protective suit makes its wearer susceptible to heat stress. A prototype of the Telemetric Heat Stress Monitor (THSM) was developed at LANL to warn workers, and personnel monitoring the workers, of incipient heat stress by detecting the workers` elevated temperatures and heart rates. The purpose of this CRADA was to transfer the information and technology from LANL to the industrial partner, and to assist in the further development of a commercial THSM product. The THSM is the first extensive telemetric physiological monitor to be developed; previous monitors used wires between the sensors and the recording and display equipment. Developing a reliable, small, battery-powered, inexpensive telemetry system to share the RF spectrum with today`s proliferating wireless devices was a significant technical accomplishment