Advertisement
Dehydration is a major health concern in the first responder community.Mild dehydration can lead to compromised physical and cognitive performance.Moderate to severe dehydration creates a significantly increased risk fordebilitating and potentially deadly heat illnesses. For example, firefightersperform physically demanding work in heavy protective clothing, whichincreases the production of sweat as the body works harder than normal toself-regulate its core temperature. Warm or hot ambient conditions, as wellas exposure to radiant heat from fires, increase the challenge. Dehydrationcompromises sweat production, and the resulting rise in core temperaturecreates increased cardiovascular stress. Dehydration can also result in otheruntoward cardiovascular changes.
Advertisement
The United States Fire Administration (part of FEMA -- the FederalEmergency Management Agency) estimates that more than half of firefighterline-of-duty deaths result from cardiovascular events or heat illnesses. Thusensuring adequate pre-response hydration and on-scene re-hydration is anincreasing area of focus for occupational medicine experts focused on thehealth, safety and performance of firefighters. Non-quantitative orobservational hydration assessment techniques may not consistently ensure thatall dehydrated and at-risk individuals are identified and get proper medicalattention. Cantimer's quantitative approach is based on assessing thecomposition of a small sample of saliva, with a portable, hand-held device.
"We are delighted to have been awarded this contract," said Robin C.Stracey, President and CEO of Cantimer. "We anticipate that the ability toobjectively measure and manage hydration status will have a major positiveimpact on the health and safety of mission-critical first responders. We alsosee important applications for this technology in sports medicine, geriatric,pediatric and military settings," he added.
Cantimer intends to collaborate on the TSWG project with Denise Smith,Ph.D., a Professor in the Exercise Science Department at Skidmore College.Dr. Smith is also a Research Scientist at the Illinois Fire Service Instituteat the University of Illinois. "I am very excited about this technology andits potential ability to improve firefighter safety and firegroundperformance. We look forward to working with Cantimer to ensure that thistechnology is designed to be of greatest benefit to this country's firstresponders," noted Smith.
About Cantimer
Cantimer is a privately held development stage company commercializing apatented, proprietary sensor technology platform with applications in lifescience, biodefense, environmental testing, point-of-care diagnostics and homehealth markets. The technology will initially be embodied into point-of-careproducts for convenient, non-invasive, measurement and monitoring of humanhydration status using saliva as a sample. The Company welcomes inquiriesabout the application of its technology to the development of proprietarysensors for other applications.
SOURCE Cantimer, Inc.
