News Release

For Immediate Release -- November 24, 2020

U.S. Army Announces New Technology Licensing Partnership with First Line Technology for Heat-Exhaustion Prevention Device

(Fort Detrick, Md.) – US Army Medical Research & Development Command (USAMRDC) announces a new technology licensing partnership, with ISO 9001:2015 certified designer and manufacture of disaster preparedness and emergency response equipment, First Line Technology, LLC.

USAMRDC's innovative and proprietary Body Cooling System™ (BCS™) technology will be manufactured and incorporated into First Line Technology's line of body cooling equipment with the specific goal of assisting emergency medicine providers and sports medicine staff with the prevention of serious or even deadly heat-related illness. Individuals exposed to oppressive heat, particularly firefighters, athletes, and road construction crews will also benefit from the low-maintenance technology. Based upon the concept of "immersion cooling," the BCS is essentially a shallow standing water basin that allows sufferers of heat exhaustion to submerge their hands and forearms in an effort reduce core body temperature. Standing about waist-high and measuring around five-feet long by two-feet wide, the BCS can accommodate up to six people at once on either side.

The BCS can increase the overall capacity for people to work in hot, humid environments by as much as 60%. Lt. Col. David DeGroot, Deputy Chief of Clinical Investigation at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu and co-inventor of the BCS and commented, "If we can cool off the skin, that cooling will – via the blood – be transferred to the core, and that's how core temperature is reduced."

USAMRDC Medical Technology Transfer Office's (MTT) process for developing market-ready products is known as, Assistive Technology Transfer. By providing small business and inventors' assistance with cooperative research and development agreement support, research and development, prototyping, testing, evaluation and more, USAMRDC MTT can potentially speeding the development and commercialization of DOD-relevant biomedical inventions, from concept through development.

The Body Cooling SystemTM is part of a portfolio of inventions and patents from the US Army that also includes a suite of next generation wearables eager to improve training and performance for outdoor settings. Contact USAMRDC at USArmy.Detrick.MEDCOM-USAMRMC.List.ORTA@health.mil to request product information.

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About Army Futures Command:
Army Futures Command (AFC) leads the persistent modernization of the Army in order to provide future warfighters with the concepts, capabilities, and organizational designs needed to dominate a future battlefield. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, AFC has more than 26,000 people worldwide. The Army's six modernization priorities are the focus of our eight Cross Functional Teams: Long Range Precision Fires; Next Generation Combat Vehicle; Future Vertical Lift; Army Network; Air and Missile Defense; Soldier Lethality; Assured Positioning Navigation Timing; and, Synthetic Training Environment. The Artificial Intelligence Task Force and Army Applications Lab also support our efforts. Collaborating with entrepreneurs, scientists, industry, and academia, AFC strives to create the best solutions to keep Soldiers safe and America strong. For more information, visit https://armyfuturescommand.com/.