MOSES HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM FOR FIREFIGHTERS Dr. Tatiana S. Goering-Zaburnenko Saxion University of Applied Science Van Galenstraat 19 7500 KB Enschede The Netherlands Dr. Hilco Prins Windescheim University of Applied Science Campus 2 8017 CA Zwolle The Netherlands Ir. Etto L. Salomons Saxion University of Applied Science Van Galenstraat 19 7500 KB Enschede The Netherlands ABSTRACT When firefighting, the combination of exposition to high temperatures, high physical demands and wearing (heavy and insulated) personal protective equipment lead to increased risk of heat stress and exhaustion in firefighters. Heat stress can easily evolve into a life-threatening heat stroke. Once heat stress occurred, the chance of getting another heat stroke during deployment gets higher. Moreover, intermittent exposure to heat stress over several years, is a risk factor for heart diseases. Similarly, exhausted during a deployment, a firefighter needs more time to rehabilitate before he can safely be deployed again. Heat stress and exhaustion can lead to line-of-duty cardiovascular events. Therefore preventing heat stress and exhaustion during deployment is beneficial for health, functioning and employability of firefighters. Since currently available measurement of the core temperature, such as thermometer pill or neck patch thermometer, are not reliable or practical for firefighters, an alternative approach may be used, namely, estimation of the core temperature based on non-invasive observation of the heart rate. Exhaustion is estimated using the training impulse model based on the heart rate reserve. Our achievement is a MoSeS health monitor system (as a smartphone application) that can real time analyze the health status of a firefighter and predict exhaustion and heat stress during deployment. The system is cheap (only a heart rate sensor and a smartphone application is needed), easy to use (intuitive “traffic light” signal), and objective (the health status is determined based on measurements of the heart rate). The only restriction is that the developed model is strongly dependent on personal maximum and minimum heart rate which need to be established beforehand. KEYWORDS Core temperature, heat stress, exhaustion, firefighters 1. INTRODUCTION Firefighters are regularly exposed to high temperatures which in combination with high physical demands and wearing (heavy and insulated) personal protective equipment (PPE) lead to higher risk of heat stress and exhaustion among firefighters [1]. Heat stress occurs when body retains more heat than it loses. If heat stress is not treated properly, a life-threatening heat stroke may occur. A combination of fire heat, heat production of physical effort and insulation suit leads to a higher risk of heat stroke among firefighters. Heat stroke, besides being a direct danger to the physical health, has a negative impact on mental functioning, such as decision-making and responsiveness, which are crucial for firefighting . In particular, repeated exposure to heat stress causes health to be adversely affected [2]. Once heat stress is experienced chance of getting another heat stress during deployment gets higher [3]. Exhaustion is another most common but also opaque hazard in fire fighters. Both heat stress and exhaustion may be a common causal factor in heart attacks and slips, trips and falls [4]. Heart failure is the cause of