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

> **NIH NIH R43** · EASEALERT LLC · 2022 · $384,782

## Abstract

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 exami...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10547460
- **Project number:** 1R43HL164225-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** EASEALERT LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Joel Billings
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $384,782
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10547460

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10547460, EaseAlert: Tactile Firefighter Alerting System Designed to Reduce Negative Cardiovascular Outcomes and Sleep Disturbances (1R43HL164225-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10547460. Licensed CC0.

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