Work

Design and Evaluation of Wearable Solar Radiation Shields for Enhanced Personal Heat Exposure Monitoring

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Extreme heat is one of the main climate-induced public health risks to communities around the world. Understanding an individual's vulnerability to heat is challenging, as heat exposures vary significantly depending on occupation, travel behaviors, personal activities, and the surrounding urban environment. Previous validation studies have found that commonly used wearable temperature sensors are less reliable in highly urbanized areas and when worn in direct sunlight. The aim of our study is to investigate the potential to improve the reliability of wearable temperature sensors commonly used in personal heat exposure studies. To accomplish this aim, we designed and rapidly prototyped a set of solar radiations shields to decrease temperature bias when worn in direct sunlight and in areas of high impervious surfaces. In a field deployment, we tested four different form factors for solar radiation shields, which were specifically designed to house the iButton sensor and to be worn on-body. Initial results have shown that these wearable solar radiation shields can improve sensor reliability by decreasing temperature bias by 3 °F on average. These findings highlight the potential for wearable radiation shields to enhance personal heat exposure measurements in urban environments.

Source: Sensors

DOI: 10.3390/s25030945

Authors: Dana Habeeb, Rahul Devajji, Nick Polak, Greatzel Unabia, Oscar Urbina

Institutions: Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University, Georgia Gwinnett College, The University of Texas at El Paso

Language: English

Topic: Thermoregulation and physiological responses

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137