David James
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They help soldiers weather the extremes
KOCHI: One of the challenges that soldiers face when they are moved to high altitudes and deserts is the time taken by them to get acclimatized to the region. Delhi-based Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) is working on developing methods to reduce the time span for this acclimatization.
The normal time that the human body takes to adjust to an extreme temperature is about six days at 2,700m to 4,000m above sea level. After that, from 4,000m to 4,800m, it takes two days and so on. But when soldiers are moved to such conditions on short notice, the body does not get enough time to adjust and this in turn leads to health issues.
"Keeping this in mind, we have developed a chamber in which the body's temperatures are acclimatized. We are trying to lower the acclimatization time to four days because sometimes tensions across the border would need immediate movement of troops," said DIPAS director Shashi Bala Singh.
She said the institute focuses mostly on the needs of the soldiers who are posted under extreme weather conditions. "Now, the eastern sector has also become important. So we are expanding the scope of our research based on the different regions," she said.
Singh, the only woman among the 52 directors in the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), was in Kochi to participate in the 'Suraksha 2013', the national defence expo, which concluded on Sunday.
A physiologist who works on cognitive behaviour, Shashi Bala Singh has been working with life science labs, which are directly involved in enhancing and optimizing human performance (services) in the different environment conditions. "In our work, we keep the soldier in mind. We are now in the process of developing personnel cooling systems for men and women posted in the deserts," she said.
Singh was earlier posted as the director at the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research at Leh in Jammu & Kashmir. During her tenure there, Singh and her team worked with the local people in Ladakh to grow 75 types of vegetables, using DRDO technology. This initiative now helps the Army meet its vegetable requirement during summer.
They help soldiers weather the extremes - The Times of India
KOCHI: One of the challenges that soldiers face when they are moved to high altitudes and deserts is the time taken by them to get acclimatized to the region. Delhi-based Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) is working on developing methods to reduce the time span for this acclimatization.
The normal time that the human body takes to adjust to an extreme temperature is about six days at 2,700m to 4,000m above sea level. After that, from 4,000m to 4,800m, it takes two days and so on. But when soldiers are moved to such conditions on short notice, the body does not get enough time to adjust and this in turn leads to health issues.
"Keeping this in mind, we have developed a chamber in which the body's temperatures are acclimatized. We are trying to lower the acclimatization time to four days because sometimes tensions across the border would need immediate movement of troops," said DIPAS director Shashi Bala Singh.
She said the institute focuses mostly on the needs of the soldiers who are posted under extreme weather conditions. "Now, the eastern sector has also become important. So we are expanding the scope of our research based on the different regions," she said.
Singh, the only woman among the 52 directors in the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), was in Kochi to participate in the 'Suraksha 2013', the national defence expo, which concluded on Sunday.
A physiologist who works on cognitive behaviour, Shashi Bala Singh has been working with life science labs, which are directly involved in enhancing and optimizing human performance (services) in the different environment conditions. "In our work, we keep the soldier in mind. We are now in the process of developing personnel cooling systems for men and women posted in the deserts," she said.
Singh was earlier posted as the director at the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research at Leh in Jammu & Kashmir. During her tenure there, Singh and her team worked with the local people in Ladakh to grow 75 types of vegetables, using DRDO technology. This initiative now helps the Army meet its vegetable requirement during summer.
They help soldiers weather the extremes - The Times of India
