Physio-Med Web: Real Time Monitoring of Physiological Strain Index (PSI) of Soldiers During an Urban Training Operation.

摘要

This field study of simulated urban combat explored the array of issues associated with the collection and use of real-time physiologic data. Six male soldiers (age = 22 +/- 4 y MEAN +/- SD; ht = 172 +/- 5 cm wt = 69.3 +/- 1.6 kg; % body fat = 13.9 +/- 6.9 load carried = 19.0 +/- 2.9 kg) were monitored in real-time during a simulated attack on the McKenna Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) facility at the Dismounted Battlespace Battle Lab, Ft. Benning, Georgia. Physiological strain index (PSI), derived from heart rate (HR) and core temperature (Tcore), was used to monitor thermal/work strain (Moran et al., Am. J. Physiol. 275:R129-R134, 1998). Meteorologic conditions: air temp = 21 to 24 deg C; relative humidity = 55-65%; solar radiation = 150-430 W/sq m (estimated WBGT = 19 to 23 deg C). Tcore was measured by ingested radio telemetry pill, and HR was measured electrocardiographically. Data from these ambulatory sensors was transmitted through a wireless personal area network (PAN) to a control facility where the PSI of each soldier was displayed during the two hour simulated attack. (1) initial PSI = 2 (range: 0 to 3.5), peak = 5 (3.5 to 6.5), recovery = 3.5 (2 to 5). Heart rate (HR): initial = 80 bpm (60 to 110), peak = 165 (140 to 185), recovery = 105 (95 to 125). Core temperature: initial 37.5 deg C (36.8 to 37.9 deg C), peak = 37.9 deg C (37.3 to 38.5 deg C), with limited decreases with 30 min of recovery. Conclusions: PSI appears to be a sensitive indicator of cardiovascular and thermal strain; real-time PSI has potential value in military operations where heat strain is a significant risk. However, significant sensor, PAN, and data management and modeling work remains to be done before the routine use and dissemination of physiologic information is practical for the dismounted warfighter.