Tiny Pill Relays Body Temperature of Firefighters In Real-time

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday January 17, 2013 @07:57PM from the it's-in-the-pill dept.

pcritter writes "Australian firefighters are enlisting the help of tiny pill to battle fires. In a training exercise, 50 firefighters swallowed the LifeMonitor capsule which is equipped with a thermometer and a transmitter. The pill transmits data to a device worn on the chest, which also gathers data on heartbeat, respiration and skin temperature. This data is relayed in real-time, allowing better management of heat-stress during firefighting. Victoria's Country Fire Authority trialed this new mechanism when they found that the standard measurement of temperature by the ear was an ineffective indication of heat-stress. The pill is expelled naturally after two days."

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The hard part... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-01-17 20:15 · Score: 5, Funny

is recovering the re-usable pills after they are expelled. Seems the firefighters are reluctant to see them recovered and even more reluctant to be in the second round of trials for some reason.