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Smart heat stress device
By Karina Clement, DSTO
Volume 50, No. 10, June 14, 2007 |
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| COMPACT: The new prototype heat stress monitor. |
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Heat induced illness or stress can be extremely debilitating and it’s vital that deployed personnel manage their body temperatures to avoid this.
DSTO in consultation with the Defence Occupational Health, Safety and Compensation Branch, has developed a new prototype device that will make it much easier to determine the severity of heat loads in hot environments.
Until recently, the only way for the ADF to determine heat loadings was using a technique developed in the 1950s, known as the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index.
The biggest issues with this system are its size, fragility and lack of flexibility.
Obtaining a WBGT index reading involves the use of three thermometers - shaded dry bulb, black globe and wet bulb. They are usually attached to a single electronic recording device which needs to be mounted on a fixed base, requires daily maintenance and often has to be situated some distance from where the actual operation is taking place.
The new prototype Australian hand-held Heat Stress Monitor (HSM) provides all the functionality of the WBGT apparatus in a portable form. It reports an Environmental Strain Index (ESI) figure based on measurements of temperature, humidity and solar radiation.
The Heat Stress Monitor, now in its late stages of development, is robust, waterproof, almost maintenance free - and only the size of a large mobile phone.
DSTO and the Defence Occupational Health, Safety and Compensation Branch recently took possession of 5 prototype Heat Stress Monitors and will now conduct a series of validation tests and user trials. |
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