Air Force Research Laboratory touts wearable health monitoring technology

Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) researchers are espousing the benefits of the latest version of the Survival Health Awareness Responders Kit (SHARK), noting it provides critically needed preventative care.

The SHARK 2.0 was recently delivered to instructors at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, a site used to train survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialists.

Maj. Toby Andrews, 66th Training Squadron, Detachment 3 commander, said the SHARK 2.0 “gives (instructors) real-time alerts on the health and well-being of students….it truly eases my mind as a commander.”

He said the innovation “allows us to provide preventative care (in cases) that could otherwise lead to serious medical situations.”

Before the advent of SHARK 2.0, officials said instructors checked on trainees at regular intervals to ensure their well-being and, in some instances, administered ice baths to students with elevated body temperatures.

Now sensors are embedded into shirts to transmit key metrics, including heart rate and estimated core temperature from smartphones to a server, and as students undergo physical endurance tests during extended periods of isolation, the system allows instructors to monitor the data in real-time and issues alerts for heart rate spikes and significant increases in temperature.

The SHARK team continues to work with other squadron key leaders to address related needs, with officials noting as an example an application using the heart rate variability measurement to provide real-time feedback regarding students’ reactions to various training stressors.