SBIR Phase II: Affordable Remote Cardiac Monitoring Device For Improved Firefighter Safety Outcomes

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一个全面的生理监测平台，为从事危险职业(如消防员)的个人提供包括预测性诊断在内的纵向和实时生理监测。由于现有的生理监测产品对于大多数消防和紧急服务机构来说成本过高，而且50%的消防员死亡是由于突发心脏事件，这项技术为消防机构提供了一种负担得起的解决这一关键问题的机制。多项研究表明，及早发现不规则心率事件(心律失常)在预防和治疗进一步的心血管疾病方面具有显著优势。拟议的技术创新将包括一种可穿戴的生理监测设备，它将使用一系列联网机制与用户友好的分析平台进行通信。此外，将自我警报系统集成到可穿戴式补丁中将支持独立操作，即使消防员和指挥中心之间存在通信延迟。及早发现心律失常并促进纠正行动，可以使每个人的心血管残疾索赔减少约325,000美元。拟议的项目旨在降低与消防员受伤和死亡相关的经济和社会成本，这些伤亡是由潜在的心血管疾病和消防人员工作的危险职业环境造成的极端生理压力造成的。拟议技术的可负担性不仅将提高行业的职业安全，还将使科学家能够通过使用该技术进行实验和现场研究，进一步了解血氧饱和度、心电图值以及极端高温和生理应激之间的相互关系。利用该平台进行的纵向分析还将为科学家提供必要的工具，以研究生理应激和人类表现因素之间的关系，以更深入地了解决策、风险感知和沟通等机制中的关键因素。在消防员伤亡事故调查后，这些因素经常被国家职业安全与健康研究所(NIOSH)引用，并在国家消防协会(NFPA)制定的操作程序标准中发挥重要作用。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a comprehensive physiological monitoring platform that provides individuals working in hazardous occupations, such as firefighters, with longitudinal and real-time physiological monitoring that includes predictive diagnostics. Because existing physiological monitoring products are cost-prohibitive for most fire and emergency service agencies, and 50% of firefighter deaths are due to sudden cardiac events, this technology offers fire-service agencies an affordable mechanism for addressing this critical problem. Multiple studies have shown that early detection of an irregular heart-rate event (arrhythmias) offers a significant advantage in preventing and treating further CVD. The proposed technological innovation would consist of a wearable physiological monitoring device, which will use a range of networking mechanisms to communicate with a user-friendly analytical platform. Further, the integration of a self-alert system into a wearable patch would support a standalone operation even if there were to be a communication lag between a firefighter and command center. Early detection of arrhythmias and promoting corrective actions could reduce each individual cardiovascular disability claim by about $325,000.The proposed project aims to reduce the economic and social costs associated with firefighter injuries and fatalities due to underlying cardiovascular-disease and the extreme physiological strain resulting from the hazardous occupational environments in which fire services personnel work. The affordability of the proposed technology would not only improve occupational safety in the industry, but also enable scientists to further scientific knowledge about the interrelationships between oxygen saturation, ECG values, and extreme heat and physiological stress by using this technology to conduct experimental and field-based research. The longitudinal analysis possible with this platform would also give scientists the tools necessary to research the relationships between physiological stress and human performance factors, to gain a deeper understanding about critical factors in mechanisms such as decision making, risk perception, and communication. These factors are frequently cited in National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) after incident investigations of firefighter fatalities, along with playing important roles in the operating procedure standards set by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.