--- description: Find out why SlateSafety BioTrac Band is one of the best inventions of 2021 title: SlateSafety BioTrac Band: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta54ab8b054121835/698a1eb709208fb3e541874b/best-inventions-2021-BioTrac-Band-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 10, 2021 # Keeping First Responders Cool SlateSafety BioTrac Band by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Heart disease is the leading cause of death among firefighters, in large part because of their extended exposure to high-heat situations, a problem that also affects industrial workers and members of the military. SlateSafety aims to solve this problem with the [BioTrac Band](http://www.firehud.co "undefined") ($495), a wearable tracking device that watches for signs of heat stress. Worn on the arm, the device measures each user’s heart rate, core body temperature and exertion, pinging a cloud-based platform to alert commanders and colleagues when those measures hit unsafe levels. Since its inception, the company has been awarded $1 million by the National Science Foundation and has received three contracts from the Department of Defense; the device is now used by 35 fire departments and the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. _—Abhishyant Kidangoor_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113097/biotrac-band/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113097/biotrac-band/"},"headline":"Keeping First Responders Cool","datePublished":"2021-11-10T11:07:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:55:05.255Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113097/biotrac-band/","keywords":["list","franchise","best inventions","Best Inventions 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta54ab8b054121835/698a1eb709208fb3e541874b/best-inventions-2021-BioTrac-Band-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta54ab8b054121835/698a1eb709208fb3e541874b/best-inventions-2021-BioTrac-Band-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113097/biotrac-band/","name":"Keeping First Responders Cool"}}]}] ```