Physiological Strain
Conditions
Keywords
Helmet, Heat Tolerance Test, ventilation System
Brief summary
The use of infantry helmets under heavy heat stress conditions, during physical exertion, may hinder the body's ability to effectively dissipate heat from the head area, thereby damaging the soldier's function. Therefore head cooling may potentially enable a longer duration of activity until reaching fatigue. An improvement in function may also be possible.The purpose of this research is to determine the extent of the cognitive and physiological strain caused by wearing a helmet under exertional conditions while exposed to heavy heat stress and to evaluate the effect of a unique ventilation system connected to the helmet on strain reduction.
Detailed description
12 young, healthy civilian volunteers, aged 21-28 will participate in the study. Following a day of examinations and 6 days of acclimatization in a climatic chamber in accordance with a well accepted protocol, the subjects will undergo 3 days of experiment that will include exposure to hot environmental conditions with different helmet-wearing scenarios, while wearing uniform and a combat vest: (a) without a helmet (b) with a helmet (c) with a helmet connected to a ventilation system. All 3 scenarios will include a two hour effort (walking on a treadmill) in heavy heat stress in the climatic chamber at our institute (the Heller institute of medical research).
Interventions
PROCEDUREVentilated Helmet
The ventilation system is installed on the inner part of the helmet and connected to a bellows and an energy source placed on the vest worn by the soldier. The system's working principal is based on air perfusion with a small ventilator.
Sponsors
Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
21 Years to 28 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* healthy civilian volunteers * aged 21-28 * without known medical illnesses or medication use
Exclusion criteria
* the existence of or suspicion of existing cardiac or respiratory disease * hypertension * diabetes * any hormonal disease or any other chronic illness that may inhibit participation in the experiment * infectious disease 3 days prior to the experiment.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physiological strain | 9 days | The physiological strain will be determined by body core temperature and heart rate of the subjects during a heat tolerance test(HTT). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rectal temperature | 9 days | The Rectal temperature will be mesured by a rectal thermistore during each HTT |
| Skin temperature | 9 days | The Skin temperature will be mesured by skin thermistores on 4 sites (chest, leg and arm and head). |
| Heart Rate | 9 days | Heart rate will be monitored using a polar watch. |
| Sweat Rate | 9 days | Sweat rate will be calculated from the patient's weight and his water balance |
Countries
Israel
Contacts
Primary ContactAmit Druyan, M.D
Outcome results
None listed