At three-fourths of an inch, the commercially available CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Thermometer Pill wirelessly transmits core body temperature as it travels through the human digestive tract. A sensor within the pill sends a signal that passes harmlessly through the body to the CorTemp Data Recorder outside of the body.

News of the back-to-back tragedies rocked the country, prompting athletic programs to consider better precautions for protecting their athletes from heat-related illnesses. Enter the CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Thermometer Pill, made for NASA and manufactured commercially by HQ, Inc.

Within 1 to 2 hours of ingesting, the CorTemp thermometer pill will reveal vital information necessary for the prevention and treatment of heat-related illnesses. (It will remain in an individual’s system for 18 to 30 hours, before passing safely.) The absence of catheters, probes, and wire connections allow team physicians and certified athletic trainers (ATCs) to noninvasively and wirelessly monitor the core body temperature of multiple athletes in real time during field play or practice. These medical professionals have several options and configurations for tracking athletes. The simplest is direct manual monitoring, whereby they hold the CorTemp Data Recorder (a physiological monitoring system) near the small of an athlete’s back.

The patented, U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated pills are numerically coded, and an individual Data Recorder can monitor up to 99 athletes. When a two-digit athlete identification number (or jersey number) is entered on the recorder keypad, that athlete’s core temperature will instantly appear on the recorder’s liquid crystal display. Temperatures of multiple athletes can quickly be taken by an ATC on the sidelines, allowing the athletes to get back on the playing field within seconds. Trainers and physicians can also program the hand-held monitoring unit to set off an alarm if a player’s core temperature reaches a designated level.

HQ, Inc.'s Core Body Temperature Monitoring System' consisting of the CorTemp Ingestible Core Body Thermometer Pill and the CorTemp Data Recorder—reveals vital information necessary for the prevention and treatment of heat-related illnesses.

The Tampa-based university has also applied for a Federal grant to use the temperature pill on other athletes in a laboratory setting, where heat and humidity can be carefully controlled, to look for the earliest signs of heat-related illness.

Just a few hours north in Gainesville, the University of Florida—where Autin played—is also trying out the technology, as are the University of Connecticut, the University of Oklahoma, and West Chester University (Pennsylvania), all under a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sponsored study that has led to the development of new guidelines regarding the amount of time players can practice and the amount of padding they can wear during hot summer days.

In the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, and Minnesota Vikings are using the CorTemp technology to monitor their players. According to HQ, Inc., and widely published reports, all three teams are pleased with how the sensor pill is keeping their players safe from the heat. HQ, Inc., is currently talking with several other professional football teams about investing in its products.

While certified athletic trainers can retrieve athletes' core temperatures right from the sidelines, they can also get the same information away from the playing field, since it can be transmitted wirelessly to a PDA (pictured) or a PC in real time.

Beyond the sporting world, the ingestible capsules have been used to monitor the core body temperatures of firefighters as they battle blazes and divers as they work in deep, cold waters. The technology has also been used to monitor critical temperatures in paper manufacturing, in food processing, and in jumbo television sets found at sport stadiums.

Furthermore, doctors studying sleep disorders have used it to determine when people are sleeping most deeply, because that is when their temperature is the lowest. It has additionally been utilized in heart surgery, when patients’ bodies needed to be cooled down.

Applications are expanding for HQ, Inc., leading to a spike in the company’s sales, more celebratory spikes on the football field, and, most importantly, fewer spikes in temperature.

CorTemp™ is a trademark of HQ, Inc.