Bertil Veenstra

• Ministry of Defense, Netherlands

Purpose Non-invasive non-obtrusive continuous and real-time monitoring of core temperature (Tc) may enhance pacing strategies, the efficacy of heat mitigation measures, and early identification of athletes at risk for heat-related disorders. The Estimated Core Temperature (ECTemp™) algorithm uses sequential heart rate (HR) values to predict Tc. We...

Introduction In military service, marching is an important, common, and physically demanding task. Minimizing dropouts, maintaining operational readiness during the march, and achieving a fast recovery are desirable because the soldiers have to be ready for duty, sometimes shortly after an exhausting task. The present field study investigated the i...

Objectives: To investigate the validity of different devices and algorithms used in military organizations worldwide to assess physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and heart rate (HR) among soldiers. Design: Device validation study. Methods: Twenty-three male participants serving their mandatory military service accomplished, firstly, n...

The proliferation of user-friendly low-cost wearable sensors has brought the concept of real-time physiological monitoring for exertional heat illness to the cusp of reality. This paper reviews and discusses the current state of the art in real-time physiological status monitoring for exertional heat illness mitigation within the military context....

Introduction Today’s Armed Forces are using data on their soldiers’ physical demands for decision making processes, injury and dropout prevention and training quality management. An increasing variety of monitors which can be used for this purpose are becoming available. To choose the most appropriate device, information about the measurement accur...

A B S T R AC T The purpose of this study was to evaluate the wrist-worn device Mio FUSE, which estimates heart rate (HR) based on photo-plethysmography, 1) in a large study group during a standardised activity, 2) in a small group during a variety of activities and 3) to investigate factors affecting HR accuracy in a real-world setting. First, 53 m...

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS We investigated the wearing comfort of nine devices for monitoring physical activity in a military context. In general, the questionnaire-based survey revealed that the devices were highly acceptable. For long-term monitoring of physical activity in soldiers (>5 days), slightly more participants (85.2%) found that sensors...

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of three measurement systems estimating gait speed during a loaded military march over graded terrain. Systems developed by the Swiss and Netherlands Armed Forces and a commercial wrist-based device were evaluated in comparison to a Global Positioning System. The first part of the paper focuses on the devel...

Purpose: The Swiss Armed Forces will implement a new formation concept during basic military training to reduce injury and dropout rates. Adaptations are based on scientific results from physical demands monitoring (Wyss et al., 2012). Since such data became very important in decision making processes, it is the aim of the present study, conducted...

For infantry units of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, high attrition rates (varying from 42 to 68%) during initial training are a persisting problem. The reasons for this attrition are diverse. Having better insight into the causes of attrition is a prerequisite for implementing preventive measures. To achieve this, a monitoring assessment system wa...

Histopathologic changes of the lateral retinaculum are described in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). No information is available on the presence of structural changes of the lateral retinaculum on ultrasound examination in patients with PFPS. To describe ultrasound characteristics and colour Doppler findings in patients with unila...

During military operations soldiers often encounter extreme environmental circumstances like heat, cold, prolonged physical exercise, and disturbed sleep, which hamper their performance. Monitoring changes in physiological parameters may assist with adequate interventions to prevent the negative consequences and support recovery. The current study...

The objective of this study was to establish the best prediction for endurance time of combat soldiers marching with extremely heavy loads. It was hypothesized that loads relative to individual characteristics (% maximal load carry capacity [MLCC], % body mass, % lean body mass) would better predict endurance time than load itself. Twenty-three mal...

This study had the objective to develop a model to predict the results of the 12-minute running test based on the results of a stair climbing test. The 12-minute running test is one of the items of a physical fitness test of the Royal Netherlands Army. Twenty-five male subjects were tested on the stair climbing test and on the 12-minute running tes...

Since body balance and weight-bearing factors present while running on the treadmill might cause additional muscle recruitment and thus could influence the force-velocity relationship and power, the present study was undertaken to find out whether the F-V and F-P relationships measured while running on the treadmill are different from the respectiv...

The purpose of this study was to estimate the gross body force‐velocity (F‐V) relationship on a newly developed motorized treadmill (Gymrol, France) in subjects who differed in their predicted maximal running velocity (Vmax) calculated from the F‐V relationship. Of the 32 subjects tested, those with the 14 highest Vmax values were assigned to a fas...

The aim of this study was to estimate the optimal resistance on a specially designed motorized treadmill (Gymrol) to obtain instantaneous peak power (IPP), 1‐second peak power (PP), and 5‐second mean power (MP) during running in subjects with different body sizes and athletic backgrounds. Thirty‐five male subjects were divided into four groups: con...