Ranger Medic Evaluation for Field Use of a Core Temperature Monitoring Unit

Management of heat injuries in military training and combat is a serious issue for military medical personnel. In addition to severe health consequences associated with heat stroke, it has been estimated that the cost of heat stroke injuries as a result of military training is approximately $10M/ year. The uses of new clinical tools to help diagnose and treat heat injuries are urgently needed. One device that may be useful is Mini Mitter Inc.'s VitalSense (R) Core Temperature Monitoring (CTM) unit. This CTM unit assesses core temperature through the use of a telemetric thermometer pill that transmits core temperature data to a radio receiver. The primary goals of this study were as follows: (a) determine the utility of the CTM system when used by Ranger Training Brigade (RTB) medics to "spot check" thermal strain of Ranger School students engaged in Ranger training, and (b) obtain a product evaluation of the CTM from the RTB medics, one of the potential customers of the product. Feedback on the acceptability and functionality of the device was provided by 9 RTB medics after using the device while overseeing training at the RTB Qualification School. Data were obtained through the use of a 22-item questionnaire. Questions included both open-ended items and those on a 9-point Likert rating scale. Data were also obtained through the use of small focus groups. This device was primarily used before and after the 5-mile run, 2.5-mile individual equipment run, land navigation course, and 13-mile road march. RTB medics rated the device moderately to very easy to use. All subjective ratings of the product were significantly more positive than the neutral point on the Likert Scale. All RTB medics stated they were moderately likely to extremely likely to use this product if it were provided to them. However, the current cost of $50 per pill would have to be lowered substantially before the device could be adopted for use in Ranger training. (12 tables, 9 figures, 10 refs.) 7Army Research Inst of Environmental Medicine Natick MA Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Div is the author of 'Ranger Medic Evaluation for Field Use of a Core Temperature Monitoring Unit', published 2004 under ISBN 9781423586760 and ISBN 142358676X.