Three NFL teams are using the CorTemp body temperature monitoring system from HQ Inc. of Palmetto, Fla., to track players while they train. CorTemp was devised in the 1980s by the Johns Hopkins University in collaboration with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to monitor astronauts.
This produces a signal, harmless to the body, that can be picked up by an external data recorder. The pill stays in the body for 24 hours or more and the battery works for about seven days. The pills cost around $30 each, depending on volume purchased.
HQ's CorTemp Miniaturized Ambulatory Data Recorder is a wireless device that picks up the signal from the body temperature sensor and converts it into a digital format. The results can be read in real time or saved for later evaluation.
Grueling training and massive bodies can result in a dangerous rise in body temperature. For instance, Stringer's body temperature was recorded at 108 degrees Fahrenheit when he reached the hospital shortly before his death.
The CorTemp system is also used in agriculture to track animal temperatures, in industry to maintain equipment temperature, and by the military to monitor the health of soldiers.