K9 BEAM: Biometric Evaluation and Analysis for Mission-ready K9s

Overview: Monitoring the health of military working dogs (MWD) is of paramount importance for several crucial reasons. These highly trained canines play an integral role in various military operations, including detection, search and rescue, and security tasks. Their unmatched senses and unwavering dedication make them invaluable assets to their human counterparts. Currently, the Department of Defense has no effective way to continuously monitor cardiorespiratory response in MWD. Although electronic health monitoring and wearables are trending and rapidly evolving, there still remains a lack of devices for health and wellness monitoring in both companion animals and MWDs. Some of these devices include Polar H10 Strap (for ECG monitoring) or VetMeasure (ECG and other vitals). However, these commercially available devices both come with constraints. For example, to use Polar H10, canines’ chest area has to be shaved and covered with electrically conductive gel. Further, Polar H10 only captures heart rate, and fails to measure other vitals such as respiratory rate, which is an indicator of fatigue. VetMeasure was designed to monitor canines after surgical operations, in a stationary setting. Although it captures multiple variables (heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate), the bulkiness and inaccuracy during exercise makes it unsuitable for usage during exercise or dynamic settings. Technical Abstract: Light Lace® is a soft, stretchable and thin fiberoptic sensor that can be integrated into chest straps or harnesses for measuring cardiorespiratory metrics. Light Lace® sensors are insensitive to electromagnetic interference and moisture and provide real time feedback on the biometrics of the user, without requiring any additional steps such as shaving the fur or applying electrode gel.