LSU Health Shreveport researcher awarded grant to predict heat illness in student athletes

SHREVEPORT, La. — A researcher at LSU Health Shreveport is launching a new study aimed at using artificial intelligence to protect high school football players from heat-related illness.

Cory Coehoorn, Ph.D., an associate professor of rehabilitation science and family medicine, was awarded a $210,022 Collaboration in Action Program grant for the project. The study focuses on moving from a reactive approach to a proactive one by predicting when an athlete is in danger of heat stroke or exhaustion.

"In Louisiana, high school athletes experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality because of environmental exposure and the equipment they wear," Coehoorn said. "Our goal is to create a proactive approach rather than a reactive one."

The research will involve approximately 100 football players in Shreveport, Monroe, Baton Rouge and Houma. These athletes will wear upper-arm sensors that track physiological metrics. Meanwhile, specialized equipment will monitor local heat and humidity levels.

Researchers will feed that data into a machine-learning model designed to alert coaches and trainers in real time when an athlete’s heat strain reaches dangerous levels.

The project specifically targets accessibility for schools with limited resources that may not afford expensive equipment like cold immersion tubs. Coehoorn’s team includes Dr. Peter Seidenberg, Dr. Miguel Lopez and Dr. Travis Currie.

While the current focus is on high school athletes, Coehoorn hopes to eventually deploy the wearable system to protect firefighters, military members and agricultural workers.