Pilot Physiologic Assessment System

The proposed Pilot Physiologic Assessment System is a comprehensive medical monitoring system capable of measuring standard medical indexes such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, respiration rate, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and nitrogen levels. PPAS will be capable of both monitoring physiologic conditions and warning individuals of potential hypoxic state to aviators or persons conducting missions above 10,000 feet. The approach of the Pilot Physiologic Assessment System will be to use measured physiologic, metabolic and ambient values to create safe boundary limits during hypoxic exposure and allow for warning signals to be presented. Orbital Research (Cleveland, Ohio) with partners at NASA Glenn Research Center will develop a wearable sensor suite to monitor physiologic metrics of aircrews. The acquired indexes will allow physiologic changes to be tracked, warning signals to be generated, and hazards of hypoxia to be mitigated. Accurate prediction of deleterious changes from hypoxic exposure requires first accurate sensors. This Phase I program will focus on developing a non-invasive, pilot worn sensor suite capable of monitoring physiologic metrics to accurately predict and issue a warning of a hypoxic state to the user.