Hand Warmers
RESEARCH EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY TO FIND A WAY FOR SOLDIERS TO MAINTAIN DEXTERITY DURING COLD-WEATHER OPERATIONS.
Cold-weather operations pose unique problems with regard to maintaining hand dexterity and performance. Currently, gloves/ mittens that maintain comfort and warmth cause dexterity to degrade because of bulky material and loss of tactile sensitivity. If gloves are not used, hand and finger temperatures rapidly decrease during cold exposure, causing a reduction in hand function and manual dexterity.
Previous methods to maintain hand dexterity include auxiliary heating of the torso and electrically-heated gloves. These methods, however, have drawbacks for the dismounted soldier. Torso heating required a relatively large power supply and heated gloves do not improve dexterity back to levels observed when bare-handed due to glove stiffness and materials used. Burning of liquid fuels (butane, propane) has also been used to provide heat, but this method increases the fire risk and potentially can cause severe burns.
Currently there is no system or method to maintain dexterity during cold-weather field operations that has low-power requirements and is non-flammable. The envisioned system or method would employ technology using an innovative engineering and/or physiological approach that enables the resting warfighter to maintain dexterity at air temperatures at less than 32 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four hours.
Dexterity during cold exposure must be equal to that observed during rest in 70 degrees F air.
System requirements include:
• light weight
• low-power requirements
• non-flammable
• not interfere with other physiological functions
• rugged enough to withstand routine use in military settings
• user friendly technology with the potential to be used in field operations
Military users for this product include snipers, infantrymen, military police, mechanics, and soldiers conducting NBC operations in cold weather. In the civilian community, the product will maintain dexterity in cold-weather workers (construction and line workers, mechanics) homeland security personnel (hazardous material cleanup in cold weather), and cold-weather recreational athletes (mountain and ice climbers).
The research is being conducted out of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and is funded through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
During Phase I of the SBIR, a successful contractor will design and develop the innovative concepts and approaches—engineering or physiological—to maintain dexterity during cold air exposure (less than 32 degrees F for more than four hours) that is equal to the manual dexterity observed during 70 degrees F air exposure.
The contractor will develop the work plan for subsequent testing in human volunteers, which will require approval by the Human Research Protections Office at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Phase I should include submission of appropriate and necessary regulatory documents to execute Phase II testing using human subjects.
During Phase II will include the construction and demonstration of a prototype that maintains manual dexterity during cold exposure. Demonstration of the prototype will require laboratory experiments using human volunteers exposed to cold air parameters as described in Phase I. The prototype will also include hardware/software interfaces required for system functionality.
Current Phase III plans anticipate that the system or method prototype will be extensively tested in laboratory and field studies to demonstrate a reliable and robust solution for military application. The end-state of the Phase III effort will be a product suitable for inclusion into the military’s cold weather clothing ensembles. It will be used to increase hand dexterity to maximize performance and reduce risk of environmental injuries.
The likely transition path after Phase III is through a formal acquisition program such as PM-Soldier, if the total readiness level is deemed high enough. If this is not supported formally, then industry contractors will need to procure outside funding to continue development. ♦