Wednesday, July 16, 2025 7/16/2025

EaseAlert: Tactile Firefighter Alerting System Designed to Reduce Negative Cardiovascular Outcomes and Sleep Disturbances

Award Number: R43HL164225
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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EaseAlert: Tactile Firefighter Alerting System Designed to Reduce Negative Cardiovascular Outcomes and Sleep Disturbances - Project Abstract Sudden cardiac death (SCD) has been the leading cause of on-duty death (ODD) in the fire service over the past several decades, accounting for 51.6% of all ODDs in 2019. The primary factors that contribute to SCD among firefighters are overexertion and stress, and SCD is most likely to occur during fire suppression and alarm response. When an emergency occurs, firefighters are alerted/awoken by loud mechanical bells. This high noise level may induce a stress response triggering a cardiovascular event. In fact, “high levels of environmental noise fuel cardiac risk” by stimulating the amygdala and inflaming the arteries. While other companies have attempted to modernize alerting systems, they failed to address the problem of stressful alarms because they focus on alerting “stations” not individual firefighters. A significant need exists to develop a less stressful alerting system for firefighters. The objective for this SBIR Phase I R43 research study is to develop a commercially viable Fire Fighter Alerting System (FFAS) comprised of proprietary wearables and optional bed shakers called BunkAlerts. Collectively “personal alerting devices,” the wearables and BunkAlerts enhance the alerting process for firefighters by replacing jarring audible alarms with tactile alerts delivered to the firefighter's wrist. This alternative approach is designed to significantly decrease tachycardic responses associated with legacy alerting systems. Meeting this need has the potential to reduce firefighter ODDs and improve the quality of life for the 15.4 million firefighters around the world. The feasibility of EaseAlert's FFAS is reinforced by preliminary data collected during field testing with six (6) fire departments in three (3) states where EaseAlert's prototype FFAS (“Gen 1”) successfully delivered over 10,000 alerts to firefighters called to an emergency with no calls missed. The potential for our FFAS to reduce stress and SCD risk among firefighters is supported by preliminary data which shows that: 1) noise triggers a startle response and 2) tactile alerts are associated with positive valence and high arousal. The proposed research will be accomplished with two aims: Aim 1 – develop a commercially viable FFAS and Aim 2 - determine the effectiveness of the FFAS in reducing cardiac reactivity and improving sleep. EaseAlert will leverage the Gen 1 FFAS as a foundation for developing its Gen 2 FFAS outlined in Aim 1. Aim 2 will test two study hypotheses in a within-subjects pilot clinical trial design: (H2.1) that EaseAlert will result in a significant reduction in the stress response to alarms compared to traditional auditory alerting systems, and (H2.2) EaseAlert will result in a significant improvement in sleep efficiency. Upon successful completion of Phase I, our Gen 2 FFAS and pilot trial will demonstrate technical merit and feasibility for Phase II. Phase II will conduct a large randomized parallel groups clinical trial powered to examine the physiological and psychological effects of this innovative alerting system alongside longer-term outcomes for important biological markers such as cortisol (stress) and c-reactive protein (inflammation) in addition to sleep outcomes and psychological functioning.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2022	EASEALERT LLC	12345 STARKEY RD STE A	LARGO	FL	33773	PINELLAS	USA	National Center on Sleep Disorders Research	000	1	12/17/2024	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $384,782 )
2022	2022	EASEALERT LLC	6911 NW 22ND ST	GAINESVILLE	FL	32653	ALACHUA	USA	National Center on Sleep Disorders Research	000	1	7/22/2022	NEW	$384,782
														Subtotal = $384,782

Grand Total All Awards = $384,782

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EaseAlert: Tactile Firefighter Alerting System Designed to Reduce Negative Cardiovascular Outcomes and Sleep Disturbances

Award Number: R43HL164225

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2024

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