Scientist sweating details of how to prevent heat stroke
STORRS, CONN.— Douglas Casa acknowledges his new heat laboratory at the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute could be viewed by some as a torture chamber.
He’ll be testing athletes, soldiers and others (sometimes for hours at a time) on a treadmill, stationary bike or cooling tub in an environment that can be controlled to reach temperatures of up to 43 C and 90 per cent humidity.
“The difference is, everyone being tested here is a volunteer,” he said. “And we’re saving lives.”
The $700,000 (U.S.) Mission Heat Laboratory is designed to be used by the NFL, NCAA teams, the U.S. military, apparel manufacturers, and scientists interested in preventing and treating heat-related illnesses, optimizing performance in extreme conditions, and learning the temperature limits of the human body.
“The prevention side of heat stroke is one of the big reasons this lab was built,” Casa said.
“We can look at things related to hydration, body-cooling strategies, acclimatization and the effects of certain medications, supplements and clothing on how much you heat up.”
Casa decided to make the study of heat and the human body his life’s work after nearly dying of heat stroke while competing in a 10-kilometre race at the Empire State Games in 1985.
He helped found the Korey Stringer Institute in 2010, after being approached by the family of the former Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle who died of a heat stroke at training camp in 2001.
The institute’s work has helped re- write heat-related protocols for the military along with the NFL, college football and other sports. Casa’s research, for example, proved that treating a heat stroke immediately on site to bring a body’s temperature down to fewer than 40 C can dramatically increase survival rates. That led to NFL teams putting cooling tubs at practice sites.
But Casa’s team had been working in a tiny 100-square-foot closetlike lab, using household humidifiers and dehumidifiers to conduct their research. Some of the lab’s ceiling tiles had to be removed to accommodate one of the taller athletes they tested.
UConn provided about $350,000 for the new high-tech lab with its environmental controls, $20,000 treadmills and computer monitoring equipment. It even has a bathroom so test subjects don’t have to leave the controlled environment during longer sessions.
The other half of the lab’s funding came from donors including the NFL, its players association and athletic trainers’ organization. Mission, an athletic apparel company cofounded by tennis star Serena Williams, basketball star Dwyane Wade and soccer star David Villa, spent $100,000 to secure the naming rights.
Josh Shaw, Mission’s chief executive, said it plans to use the lab to test new garments that will not only wick moisture from the body, but eliminate it from the clothing entirely. The lab also will be used to test new wearable technologies, sensors that can be placed in T-shirts for example, that could alert someone when they begin overheating.
“Serena Williams competes at 120 degrees (49 C) at the Australian Open, that’s pretty extreme,” Shaw said.
“So, if we can create a product that will help her be safe, we’re probably going to be able to use that technology for people, say, who do roofing or gardening, or contracting.”
Offensive lineman Hunter Knighton credits the institute with getting him back on the football field following a near-fatal heat stroke during an off-season practice with the Miami Hurricanes in 2014. His family donated money for the new lab.
“It’s been kind of a miracle for me,” said Knighton, who now plays for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
“I was just really blessed to be able to find the institute and Dr. Casa. They were able to guide me back.”