A Real Time Method for Evaluating and Monitoring Heat Stress Potential Using Wearable Biosensors
By: Kryztopher D. Tung
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016, Room: MEK 3660, 11:00 am
Committee Members:
Dr. Andrew Merryweather (Chair)
Dr. Thomas Bernard
Dr. Donald Bloswick
Dr. Rod Handy
Dr. Robert Roemer
Summary: Heat related illness is especially prominent in working populations that perform routine physical labor in combination with thick and heavy personal protective equipment (PPE) in regions with high ambient temperatures. These factors, when paired with improper dehydration, significantly contribute to the development of heat illness. Heat illness manifests itself in many ways in the human body, such as exercise-associated muscle cramps, heat syncope (dizziness), heat exhaustion, exertional heat stroke, and exertional hyponatremia. The three most prominent contributing factors to this condition are dehydration, over-expending of metabolic energy without proper food intake, and elevated core body temperatures. The goal of this research is to understand the interaction between easily accessible readings taken in real-time by wearable biosensors and the known contributors to exertional heat illness mentioned above. This will be accomplished by utilizing input from a wearable biosensor to develop or improve existing predictive algorithms for full body hydration, metabolic demand of a task, and core body temperature.