Border Patrol tests technology to prevent heat-related illnesses

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Heat is increasingly being recognized as a major health issue for people who work outdoors, including first responders like the United States Border Patrol, which recently looked to manage heat-related illnesses.

Border Patrol officers often work in the desert in very hot conditions where it is difficult to take the necessary precautions before a situation becomes serious. The agency has sought help and is now testing heat-monitoring technology that informs the officer that his internal temperature is getting too high and that they must act before they fall ill.

We were contacted by the Border Patrol because their officers were experiencing a lot of heat stress, a lot of heat stroke in a lot of obviously very hot conditions along the border, said Melissa Oh, chief executive officer of the Department of Homeland Security, the Science and Technology Silicon Valley Innovation Program.

The innovation program was developed to bridge the gap between federal agencies like the Border Patrol and startups and small businesses that have developed a useful product.

This is where Kenzen and his wearable heat technology came into play and he was introduced to the Border Patrol.

Kenzen’s device for measuring core body temperature is designed to be worn on the arm.

Officers wear the Kenzen device on one arm, where it monitors their core body temperature taking into account the officer’s personal history, such as whether medications or other health issues make them more vulnerable to heat. There are so many factors that affect your body’s ability to thermoregulate, said Kyle Hubregtse, CEO of Kenzen. In the heat, it’s hard to detect in advance. So many times when we felt the symptoms, we often entered a rather dangerous area. This is what we are trying to prevent with technology. Knowing the core temperature can advise the individual to take certain practices or precautions, such as hydrating, removing excess clothing, or finding shade.

As far as first responders are concerned, heat-related problems can be long-term and include chronic cardiovascular or lung disease and chronic kidney disease that can arise from continued exposure to heat. These chronic conditions can then exacerbate the problem, making the individual even more vulnerable to heat.

Hubregtse explained that each person has a unique algorithm that predicts their core temperature. The technology, which will already have a profile of the person, will use heart rate, skin temperature, skin moisture, sweat activity and movement, as well as individual factors such as illness, to predict when the individual will will approach the danger and alert that user.

The technology also comes with dashboards that supervisors can monitor.

With our technology, we emit alerts or vibrations from the device so the worker feels it on their arm. You know you’ve reached a threshold, Hubregtse said. We do this by predicting core body temperature. This is really what we intend to be the only way to prevent heat related illnesses.

At that point, agency protocols or solutions come into play. With first responders, you don’t always have the option to stop work, Hubregtse acknowledged. We know and [the protocol] it varies depending on how you implement a solution around this physiological monitoring. It must be within the boundaries of the job and the risk profile of the job and the risk profile of the company.

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