Technology aims to end heat strokes in American football

American football players may be able to avoid heat strokes by wearing helmets with specially made technology, an Austrian company that worked on the project said Friday.

Helmets using radio frequency technology will transmit information on body temperature in real time to a handheld computer on the sidelines, Identec Solutions said.

If temperatures surpass limits set for each player, an alarm will sound.

"The coaching staff is notified once the first signs of overheating appear and can intervene immediately," Peter Linke, vice president of the company, said in a statement.

A report from the University of North Carolina in the United States published last month showed 39 players, including two professionals, died from heat strokes between 1995 and 2008.

The project was developed by US company Hothead Sports.

(c) 2009 AFP