GE sensors help “Hotheads” stay cool

April 1, 2009

Heatstroke has killed 33 football players — most of them high school athletes — since 2005. To stop these preventable deaths, entrepreneur Jay Buckalew invented a helmet that detects when a player is at risk for developing heatstroke. Available this month, the “Hothead” helmet uses technology from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies to read when players’ body temperatures are exceeding a safe threshold, and relay these readings to coaches.


Early warning: The transmitter, battery and antenna fit inside a headband in a helmet. Photo courtesy of Hothead Technologies and Technology Review.

Making this helmet was of personal importance to Buckalew: he collapsed from heat exhaustion one day while installing telecommunications equipment on a roof. But turning a dream into a working device was no easy feat, and early versions were fraught with challenges. For example, how could sensors embedded in helmets distinguish between ambient temperature and body temperature? And how could it take into account differences in individuals’ body temperatures?

So Buckalew and his colleagues at Hothead Technologies turned to GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies — known for making precision equipment for the healthcare industry, including a skin sensor for babies in incubators. His request: make a temperature sensor that would take accurate, insightful measurements to inform coaches of impending danger while avoiding false alarms. Placed in a helmet cushion against a player’s forehead, the rugged device also establishes a baseline for each player, so individual differences — as well as changing body temperatures characteristic of heatstroke — can be considered. The readings are sent via radio frequency to coaches’ PDAs, which can store the readings on data bases.

Hothead Technologies is hopeful that the device will save many more lives and will eventually be used for military personnel, firefighters, miners and construction workers.

* Lean more in MIT’s Technology Review
* Lean more about GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies


This entry was posted in GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, Healthcare, Other and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.
  • Diego

    This is amazing and should help many of our athletes, both young and pro, prevent heat strokes. Those summer training camps are killer under the heat.

  • Jamie

    Wow! What a great invention that has come to fruition. I only wish they would make one that fit in a bike helmet. Why? I have a nine-year-old son who was born with Hydrocephalus and loves to ride his bike but he gets overheated so fast that we can only ride for short periods of time before we have to take a break. If this was in a bike helmet we would be able to monitor him and maybe not have to limit his time so much.

  • DC

    With the controversy surrounding cell phone frequencies affecting the human body, I wonder if placing this device so close to the human skull may cause problems.

  • Thomas

    Although hyperthermia is dangerous in itself, I wonder what algorithms the developer will utilize in order to identify potentially life-threatening conditions, as delta-temp is just as important as temp itself.

    As for the dangers of RF on a cellular level, I’m not worried: it is highly un-likely that such a device could generate enough RF energy to induce dammage. If the frequency was high-enough, it wouldn’t propegate through the helmet; if the wattage was high-enough, the battery would be too-large.

  • Martin

    I was wondering if this sensor could be set up in a motorcycle helmet ? Riding in the middle of the summer our heads get pretty hot.

  • Chuck

    DC. . .cell phones are a perceived danger because they are far more powerful due to the range they must cover. For a device like this, the range wouldn’t need to be more than a couple-hundred yards, if that. It’s not the frequency that’s a theoretical danger; it’s the power or wattage of the transmitter. Still, if the power was an issue, you could place the antenna on the outside skin of the helmet and put RF shielding between the antenna and the skull.

  • Heather

    These kind of inventions and stories make me proud to work at GE! It is truly amazing to see how much GE has to offer.

  • James

    This is a great new tech. The story does not say if this helmet is soon to be introduced? Has the inventor had any agreements from Riddell, Bike or Schutt to attempt to market with their helmets? Being a youth football coach in the Southwest where conditions are extreme in the summer this would be a huge benefits to coaches and parents about keeping kids properly hydrated and cooled.

  • Kevin

    I know that heatstroke and extreme temperatures are always something that a coach has to consider when practicing. I like the comment left by Jim in regards to Riddell, Schutt, Bike and Wilson who are the major manufactures of football helmets in the US. I know as a coach that high schools around the country have exclusive relationships with these companies and unless the technology can be incorporated within the established helmet market it will be very difficult to crack the market. In addition, cost must be considered as coaches are working under extremely tight school budgets and they may not have the capital to incorporate the tecnology. Sounds like promising technology nonetheless…

  • Trisha

    This is important to a lot of industries, not just sports. Anyone who works outside, ie construction, would be able to utilize this device. The potential here is astronomical. As a mother who has sons who play baseball, this is a welcome device!

  • Ryan

    I am so very impressed with this technology. This is just another excellent thing that GE is involved in.

    Here is my only worry: Most public schools are on such a tight budget so I wonder how much this will add to the equipment prices.

  • Sarah

    Can GE create a device that lets diabetics know when they may be on the verge of having a hypoglycemic episode? That they wear all the time and monitors their sugar levels with this sensor technology? And also I think this ‘hothead’ helmet will especially benefit people who are on medication such as SSRI’s that are prone to overheating.

  • Harry

    Follow the link to the article in MIT Technology Review, and you’ll see that the helmet is being produced by Schutt.

  • Miguel

    Wow! This is a great invention….i’ve seen first hand the causes of heatstroke on football players….Trully amzing by GE

  • IanP

    Responding to Sarah’s question about blood glucose monitors – a lot of people have been trying to produce one of these for quite some time. The problem is that, in this case, you’d be trying to monitor chemical states inside the body, which is a more invasive process.
    I know somebody was working on a "wristwatch" that used a skin-contact sensor, but it seemed to fade from view, so I assume it wasn’t a success.
    As a diabetic and a chronic gadget-addict, I really need one of those… :-)

  • Marty

    Cool. Literally.

  • Melanie

    Another useful and necessary application could be construction and haz-mat job sites where full protection is required at all times. The workers on these sites frequently become overheated in their protective wear. I know those workers, like my spouse, would appreciated it.

  • Thomas

    Sarah – that’s a good idea, but who would buy it?
    Diabetes is a disease that is best prevented or managed within reasonable limits. People who can’t – or don’t – keep their diabetes under control, are not likely to use such a device. And, they are more likely to die from secondary conditions than a diabetic coma.

    But it’s still a good idea!

  • Jay Buckalew

    As the inventor of this product i can tell you the best is yet to come. G-Force,( concussion ) Heart rate & Caloric Burn will be available by 2011. GE has proven to be a fantastic partner. This application is also running in Fire Fighters,Hazmat Swat,Military,Mining and Auto Racing.

  • linda norris

    My best friend has “Early -Onset (inherited) Parkinson’s Disease” perhaps there is some technology in this..which could be used to help PD people control the dyskensia and other motor issues?

  • Cullen B.

    While doing reseach for a project on RFID, I came across this article about this hotheads system. They tried this thing at our University and this system had all kinds of problems. Possibly a good concept, but in real world situations this system does not work. Our trainer did not trust the owner who had all kinds of excuses about unit issues. I would hate to see a school get scammed by this company. Thumbs down on system and owner.