"Beat the Heat" - innovative medical research on heat stress
The record temperatures this summer have an impact on all of us. Our bodies react to the great heat: we start to sweat, instinctively look for a cooler place and move less than usual. Noé Brasier (doctor and researcher at ETH Zurich) is investigating in a clinical study what exactly happens in our bodies when it is very hot. The topic of heat stress has already arrived in the working world, as the Swiss start-up epyMetrics shows.
The development of intelligent protective equipment and wearable technology that detects early signs of heat stress and overexertion is at the core of the epyMetrics researchers' work. The start-up has set itself the goal of significantly increasing the safety of employees who perform physically demanding work outdoors. This work is especially important in the increasingly extreme summer heat waves.
Noé Brasier's team has developed a solution for the continuous measurement of thermoregulation and thus provides the industry with important insights into occupational health and safety. For this reason, the clinical study is also supported by Suva and SBB CFF FFS. Together with these research partners, the physician wants to better understand the physical reactions to heat and thus lay the foundation for better protective measures against high temperatures.
Normally, heat stress in humans is only assessed indirectly by measuring temperature and humidity in the environment. However, not all people are equally sensitive to heat stress - some love being on the beach in the blazing sun, while others get hot just sitting under a parasol. Therefore, it would be beneficial to measure the body's individual heat stress directly by analysing sweat components, for example with a wearable device like a Fitbit wristband. This can be vital for firefighters or other professionals who, for example, work on construction sites or in other physically demanding outdoor activities.
In collaboration with epyMetrics®, a Swiss start-up company, Noé Brasier is developing and testing such a wearable device.
More information about epyMetrics and the research project can be found external pagehere.
Noé Brasier supports the project team Human Medicine @ETH as a medical advisor in the revision of exam questions and the monitoring of exams.