AU2021105338A4

AU2021105338A4 - Method and software product for identifying physical overexertion in firefighters

Info

Publication number: AU2021105338A4
Application number: AU2021105338A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Tiarna McElligott
Original assignee: Mcelligott Tiarna Adele Miss
Current assignee: Mcelligott Tiarna Adele Miss
Priority date: 2021-08-12
Filing date: 2021-08-12
Publication date: 2021-10-14
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-12

Abstract

A method and software product for monitoring overexertion in firefighters without impeding the deployment phase of emergency management. The method describes a monitoring device attached to a firefighter's turnout gear which reports exertion data pertaining to that firefighter to a remote party. This is achieved through the addition of an in-built RFID tag within the firefighter's turnout gear that is detected by the said device. The device is automatically activated upon movement, and displays the firefighter's name and exertion on a paired BA control board, allowing for the real time display of a firefighter's exertion level. This removes the burden of self-monitoring of exertion from the individual firefighter, thereby reducing the frequency of firefighter deaths and injury from overexertion. Further, the method preserves the rigidity of existing processes while minimising human error and reducing the cognitive load of manually associating exertion with a given firefighter during the deployment phase of emergency management. FIG 5 EDU Operations Overview Flowchart Start • Transition to sleep made ]No is movement> Wait for single process detected? Yes Update status on BBU Transition to initialization mode Start concurrent processes as detected IesIsYe ? shutting -- shutting down? down? Yes Set es 59 unsuccessful 54 5 No tag read Transition to 61 indicator on Attempt to read active mode EDUandBBU RFID for up to " 56 s BB Yes30 seconds Monitor for paired ? Exertion 64 No Is RF ID No detected Forward ? Exerton data to BBU Attempt to pair -- with BIBU for up Y53s to 30 seconds 62 Update config Is on EDU and No exertion DBBU detected Ys Activate exertion indicators on EDU and BBU

Description

FIG 5 EDU Operations Overview Flowchart

Start • Transition to sleep made

is movement> Wait for single process ]No detected?

Yes Update status on BBU

Transition to initialization mode Start concurrent processes as

detected IesIsYe ? shutting -- shutting down? down?

Yes Set es 59 unsuccessful 54 5 No tag read Transition to 61 indicator on Attempt to read active mode EDUandBBU RFID for up to " 56s BB Yes30 seconds

Monitor for paired ? Exertion 64 No Is RF ID No detected Forward ? Exerton data to BBU Attempt to pair -- with BIBU for up Y53s to 30 seconds

62 Update config Is on EDU and No exertion DBBU detected

Ys

Activate exertion indicators on EDU and BBU

EDITORIAL NOTE

2021105338

THERE ARE FIVE PAGES OF DESCRIPTION ONLY

FIELD The present invention relates to a method and software product for identifying overexertion in firefighters.

BACKGROUND Being an emergency first responder is dangerous, and especially so for firefighters. Entering an emergency site, such as an unfamiliar burning building, is an inherently risky activity and is not consistent with the occupational health and safety standards that most of society enjoys. Yet firefighters are expected to do this regularly as part of their normal employment.

In 2019 54% of firefighter deaths were due to overexertion. Under the current state of affairs, the burden is placed on the firefighter to decide when they are overexerted and need to evacuate the scene of a fire, with them often opting to remain. Consequently, when a Firefighter collapses of a heart attack or exerts to the point of unconsciousness, it is most often while engaged in their firefighting and rescue activities - resulting in yet another person for the remaining firefighters to rescue. This leaves the individual firefighter in the position of having to choose whether to abandon the mission or to continue on and potentially risk collapse, and even death from overexertion.

Since the inception of firefighting in 1678, people have been looking for ways to make firefighting safer. In 1914 Siebe Gorman and Company Ltd invented the Proto - a self contained breathing apparatus which, although developed for miners, was quickly repurposed for firefighting. Firefighters' Breathing Apparatus, known as BA, has improved greatly since this point but careful monitoring of remaining air supply is still required, and details to this effect are typically maintained by the pump operator, known as the BA officer, on a whiteboard, known as a BA Control Board or BA-Board.

Typically, firefighting units that use breathing apparatus will adhere to rigid procedures that ensure that a designated crew member will track how much air is remaining for each active firefighter, and will take action to call out firefighters before their air supply is exhausted, with a maximum deployment duration of 30 minutes. The BA-Board is central to crew management, being also used to keep track of how long each firefighter has been active, and other miscellaneous information.

However, the information available to the responsible crew member (typically, the BA officer) does not include data pertaining to the firefighter's vitails, their level of exertion, the firefighter's fitness, the level of general fitness, nor a history of exertion for the individual firefighter. While radio contact is typically maintained, and the crew commander could call them out if they knew that the firefighter was dangerously close to overexertion, the required information to make that decision is currently not available to them. Unfortunately, as previously stated, under the current processes it is left to the individual firefighter to monitor their own state of exertion, and to call themselves out prior to suffering over exertion. This, however, does not occur in a significant number of cases, with firefighters suffering potentially fatal consequences as a result.

While firefighting organizations have developed robust procedures for protecting a firefighter's air supplys, little progress has been made with respect to the firefighter's physical level of exertion due to the presence of a number of significant barriers. These barriers include the necessary rigidity of the existing BA management process, the difficulty in maintaining effective crew resource management during life and death scenarios, and the need to minimise complexity while maximising the speed of deployment. For example, the addition of a step, as simple as the firefighter needing to attach a device to their turnout gear, or adding an additional monitoring device similar to the existing BA-Board would be unacceptable in both terms of increased complexity of deployment, the increase in deployment delay, and the increased workload for the BA-Board operator.

Many promising solutions have been applied to the problem, but they fail to seamlessly integrate into the existing necessarily rigid processes. An example of one such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. US10902714B2 issued Jan. 26, 2021 to Bergman, et al. where a device is fitted to the firefighter's radio between the transmitter and the microphone. Unfortunately, this approach significantly increases the complexity of the deployment phase with sensors on the firefighter's person needing to be connected to radio units, and the matching of received telemetry to individual firefighters by the crew commander or perhaps BA Controller. Further the transmission of the physiological and/or environmental data over the firefighters' existing radio band increases contention on a limited resource and relies on the receiver to interpret, record, and associate the incoming transmission with an individual firefighter. This significantly increases the workload of the BA controller and / or crew commander, typically during the most demanding phase of deployment - when real lives are truly in the balance.

Any solution of this problem needs to impose an absolute minimal impact on the existing deployment and crew resource management process during active deployment. Ideally the impact of any solution will be limited to the preparation and recovery phases of Emergency Management.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method that addresses the problem of monitoring exertion levels in firefighters, and which is an improvement upon the prior-art approaches discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for monitoring a firefighter's exertion, the method including,

The step of attaching a monitoring device, including sensors to the firefighter.

In one embodiment of the step of attaching a monitoring device, the sensor(s) part may be detachable from the microcontroller part of the monitoring device.

In one embodiment of the step of attaching a monitoring device, the sensor(s) includes a pulse oximeter and heart rate sensor.

In one embodiment of the step of attaching a monitoring device, the sensor(s) include a temperature sensor.

In one embodiment of the step of attaching a monitoring device, the sensor(s) include an accelerometer.

The step of associating the said device with an individual firefighter.

In one embodiment of the step of associating the said device with an individual firefighter is achieved by associating each monitoring device with a slot on the BA-board, the slot being also associated with a designated Breathing Apparatus set.

In one embodiment of the step of associating the said device with an individual firefighter is achieved by associating a unique ID with each firefighter and utilizing a RFID tag(s) and reader(s) to associate monitoring equipment with a given firefighter and that firefighter's associated slot on the BA-board. The method may include displaying the Firefighters name on a screen mounted behind the tally tag holder on the BA control board.

In the presently explained embodiment the BA-Officer places the firefighter's tally tag, with the firefighter's name already handwritten on it, according to standard practice, in the slot indicated by the BBU. The indication being the firefighter's name appearing on the display behind the tally tag holder.

The step of analysis of sensor data into information.

In one embodiment of the step of analysis of sensor data is performed by a microprocessor worn on the firefighter.

In one embodiment of the step of analysis of sensor data includes accessing and integrating the individual firefighter's fitness levels and exertion history.

In one embodiment of the step of analysis of sensor data is performed by a microprocessor present within the information presentation facility.

The step of presentation of said information.

In one embodiment, the step of presentation includes the presentation of the information to the firefighter. The method may include the utilisation of visual, acoustic, and/or haptic feedback devices.

In one embodiment of the step of presentation, the step may include the transmission to a person or device bearing a degree of responsibility for the health and safety of the firefighter. The method may include the utilisation of visual and acoustic aids, and/or haptic feedback devices.

The step of transmission, analysis, and storage of sensor information for other purposes.

Preferably the information may include, respiration rate, pulse rate, and blood oxygen saturation.

In one embodiment of the step of presentation, the information may include indication of the exceeding of predefined thresholds.

Further preferred features of the present invention will be described in the following detailed description which will refer to a number of figures as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1. Location of microprocessor-controlled Exertion Detection Unit (EDU) on turnout coat

FIG 2. Layout of microprocessor-controlled Exertion Detection Unit (EDU) on turnout coat

FIG 3. Location of BBU microprocessor-controlled facilities on on BA-Board

FIG 4. Location of BA-Board on Fire Truck

FIG 5. Exertion Detection Unit (EDU) operations processes flowchart

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A pulse oximeter and heart rate sensor (hereinafter referred to as the exertion sensor) in close proximity to the firefighter's skin produces data that is analysed by a microprocessor to determine the wearer's degree of physical exertion. Said information is wirelessly distributed to, and presented on, associated crew management facilities.

A pulse oximeter and heart rate sensor, referred to as the exertion sensor, is attached to the inside collar of the firefighter's turnout coat in such a way that it maintains contact with the skin when the turnout coat is worn. The exertion sensor is electrically connected to a remote monitoring unit referred to henceforth as an Exertion Detection Unit (EDU) and along with the EDU is attached to the firefighter's turnout coat during firefighting activities. Being motion sensitive, the EDU automatically detects being attached to the firefighter's turnout coat, and thereby automatically associates with the RFID sewn into that gear. Further utilising its accelerometer, the EDU automatically detects when the suit is donned by the firefighter, pairs with the Exertion Management hub on the BA-Board - referred to henceforth as the BA Board Unit (BBU), and initializes monitoring the firefighter's exertion levels. Being central to the crew resource management process, the BBU acts as a wireless hub for all of the EDUs and all of the associated crew management facilities. The associated crew management facilities may include visual, acoustic, and/ or haptic devices such as a stick shaker, displays, indicator lights, alarms etc. as may be required to alert the responsible crew member of irregularities within the received information.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Referring now to FIG. 1, Firefighter's turnout coat 8 is fitted with EDU 1, with the main body of device 11 being attached with a hook and loops fastener to the upper inside back of the coat, and the hardwired exertion sensor 2 being attached similarly via a hook and loops fastener to the upper inside back of the collar where it will readily make contact with the firefighter's skin when the coat is worn.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, EDU 1 consists of an Exertion Sensor (also known as a particle sensor and / or a Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate sensor) 2, Microprocessor 3, Wireless Charging Loop 9, Battery 10, Reset Button 12, Visual Indicator 13, and Haptic Feedback Actuator 14, Microprocessor 3, and Wireless Communication Facility 4 which transmits information via a built-in low powered LoRaLAN radio (not shown). RFID 5 is sewn into coat 8 under hook and loops fastener patch 7 that EDU 1 attaches to.

Each firefighter is equipped with an RFID 5 that is sewn into an appropriate location on their turnout coat 8 - typically under the hook and loops fastener patch 7 that will hold EDU 1.

The fire station is issued with several EDUs 1. Typically, two per active firefighter. EDUs I are a common resource, with any EDU 1 being available to any firefighter as EDU 1 automatically configures itself upon detection of RFID 5. Under normal circumstances half of the EDUs 1 will be deployed into the firefighter's turnout coats 8, with the remaining being kept in reserve in a charging enabled storage facility (not shown).

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5. During the attachment process EDU 1, detecting movement 50, will transition from sleep to initialization mode 51. During initialization mode 51 EDU 1 reads 52 the sown-in RFID tag 5 in the coat 8 and records 53 it for further use possibly overwriting any previously stored tag identifier. If no tag 5 is read 53 then the EDU 1 will continue to use the previously read tag 5 identifier, and will visually indicate 54 the unsuccessful tag read attempt on both EDU 1 and on the BA-board 20 status panel 21 via the BA-Board Unit (BBU) 20. In either case, EDU 1 will attempt to update its status 55 on any previously paired BBU 20.

Concurrently 51, EDU 1 will enable its exertion sensor 2 and will start monitoring 56 the firefighter's exertion levels. Initially however, the firefighter will not have yet donned their turnout coat 8, so unit 1 will provide visual indication 13 that the firefighter is not present, and if a connection to a BBU 20 is available, will periodically report 64 the absence of contact with the firefighter to the BBU 20. If the firefighter is not present 57 and movement ceases , then the unit will transition 58 from initialization mode to sleep mode. Alternatively, if the firefighter is detected 57 continuously for more than 60 seconds, then EDU 1 will transition 59 from initialization mode to active mode.

At any point while in any mode other than sleep mode, if no previously paired BBU 20 is found, then EDU 1 will initiate pairing 60, and upon pairing being enabled 61 on BBU 20 will pair to BBU 20. Typically, no operator action is required on EDU 1 to perform the pairing operation 60, however, holding down reset button 12 on EDU 1 continually for 5 seconds will cause EDU I to attempt to pair with the next available BBU 20 if there is one, or to re-pair with the same BBU 20 after cycling through all others, in which case it will be assigned the next available slot 28 on BBU 20.

Pairing with BBU 20 is completed when the BBU 20 operator acknowledges the pairing request - typically by pressing acknowledge button 25, or in the case of denial, the cancel button 26.

Upon a callout, the firefighter dons their suit and EDU 1 - detecting movement 50, will transition from sleep to initialization mode 51, and then as stated previously, once the firefighter is detected 57 for more than 60 seconds, will transition from initialization to active mode 59.

Upon arrival at an operational incident, each firefighter, according to standard practice, passes their BA tally tag 27 to the BA Operator who places it into the appropriate slot 28 as indicated by BBU 20 display screens 28 located in tally tag slots 30 on BA-Board 20. In the case where a human error results in tally tag 27 being placed in the wrong slot, then BBU 20 will continue to display the firefighter's name in the correct slot 28. In this way the error will remain noticeable and may be corrected by returning tally tag 27 to the correct slot 28 thereby covering the firefighter's name displayed by the BBU 20 display screens 28 located in correct tally tag slot 30.

Any break in the EDU's 1 exertion monitoring of the firefighter while in initialization or active mode will result 55 in visual indication of loss of firefighter presence on both EDU I and any connected BBU 20, if in active mode this will be accompanied by the addition of a visual alarm on the BBU 20. All alarms will stay active until the BBU's 20 operator acknowledges the alarm 21.

During active mode 59 EDU 1 continuously acquires 56 exertion data from its sensors 2 and relays aggregate information back to the BBU 20. In the event that EDU 1 detects an adverse event 62, it provides visual, acoustic, and/or haptic feedback 14 to the firefighter. In addition, the BBU 20 also reports adverse events 63 to the BBU 20 operator via visual, acoustic, and/or haptic feedback devices 21.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are provided for purposes of explaining the principles thereof and are not to be considered as limiting or restricting the invention since many modifications may be made by the exercise of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

EDITORIAL NOTE 2021105338 THERE IS ONE PAGE OF CLAIMS ONLY I claim:

1. A computer-implemented method for associating an exertion monitoring device with a given firefighter while maintaining the integrity, simplicity, and rigidity of the response phase of deployment, the method including, the steps of; transmitting an identifier to a crew management facility; the said crew management facility matching the identifier to a given firefighter; the said device transmitting exertion data to a crew management facility; the said crew management facility providing exertion data pertaining to the given firefighter to a party remote from the firefighter.

2. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the step of matching the identifier to a given firefighter includes associating the identified firefighter with a slot on the BA Control Board;

3. A computer-implemented method according to claim 2, wherein the step of associating the identified firefighter with a slot on the BA Control Board includes displaying the firefighter's name.

4. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the step of providing exertion data pertaining to the given firefighter to a party remote from the firefighter includes updating status indicators associated with slots on the BA Control Board.

5. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting an identifier to a crew management facility includes attaching the identifier to the firefighter's turnout gear and reading the said identifier via an electronic device.