VitalAccurateThinking

Ingest electronics to avoid heat stroke

With afternoon temperatures sizzling around 100 degrees and the heat index pushing as high as 127, about 20 Texas Longhorns pop a little white pill before they strap on their helmets for practice.

This is no medicine. About the size of a thimble, it is a miniature mechanical tool that helps players avoid heat stroke during rigorous workouts in the hottest time of year.

Covered with epoxy to aid swallowing, the pills contain a battery, a communication coil, a circuit board and a quartz crystal. A hand-held monitor placed next to the player's midsection reads the level of vibrations from the crystal, translating it to a digital temperature reading.

posted by Jim VAT @ 4:30 PM