Heatstroke risk informing system using wearable perspiration ratemeter on users undergoing physical exercise

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Environmental Health
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Heatstroke poses a significant health risk, particularly during physical activity.
• Early detection of heatstroke risk is crucial for prevention.
• Current methods for assessing heatstroke risk may not be sufficiently timely or personalized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a wearable system for early heatstroke risk detection.
• To integrate perspiration rate monitoring with self-reported thirst for a comprehensive risk assessment.
• To determine the optimal timing for heatstroke risk alerts based on physiological changes.

Main Methods:

• Construction of a wearable perspiration ratemeter using a capacitive humidity sensor.
• Development of a smartphone-based system for self-identification of thirst response.
• Human experiments involving 16 healthy subjects performing step-up/down exercises.
• Collection and analysis of blood and urine samples to measure physiological markers (TP, Alb, RBC, vasopressin).

Main Results:

• The wearable system accurately tracked changes in perspiration rate.
• Vasopressin levels significantly increased with exercise, indicating physiological stress.
• Subjects often recognized thirst several minutes after the system provided a heatstroke risk alert.
• The study confirmed the validity of using the second derivative of the sweating curve for risk timing.

Conclusions:

• The developed wearable perspiration ratemeter and thirst response system are suitable for heatstroke risk alerting.
• The timing point for heatstroke risk alerts, based on physiological changes, was validated.
• This technology offers a promising approach for proactive heatstroke prevention during physical exertion.