Images: Swallow that probe

In the wake of a player's death, more football teams are looking at a pill that monitors body temperature.

By Bill Detwiler, Contributor on July 19, 2006

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CorTemp

The sudden death of San Francisco 49er Thomas Herrion in August 2005, and the heat-induced death of Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer four years ago, have prompted NFL management to review training safety precautions.

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.

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the pill

Players swallow a capsule that contains a telemetry system, transmitting device and battery. While in the gastrointestinal tract, a crystal sensor vibrates at a frequency relative to the temperature of the body surrounding it.

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.

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data recorder

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.

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Eagles use CorTemp

The Philadelphia Eagles (right) have been using the CorTemp system to monitor their players for three years; the Jacksonville Jaguars have been using it for two years, and the Vikings are using it for the first time this year.

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.

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CorTemp system

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.

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