Heat flux systems for body core temperature assessment during exercise.

Heat flux systems are increasingly used to assess core body temperature. However, validation of multiple systems is scarce. Therefore, an experiment was performed in which three commercially available heat flux systems (3 M, Medisim and Core) were compared to rectal temperature (T re). Five females and four males performed exercise in a climate chamber set at 18 °C/50% relative humidity until exhaustion. Exercise duration was 36.3 ± 5.6 min (mean ± standard deviation). T re in rest was 37.2 ± 0.3 °C. Medisim's-values were lower than T re (36.9 ± 0.4 °C, p < 0.05); 3 M (37.2 ± 0.1 °C) and Core's (37.4 ± 0.3 °C) did not differ from T re. Maximal temperatures after exercise were 38.4 ± 0.2 °C (T re), 38.0 ± 0.4 °C (3 M), 38.8 ± 0.3 °C (Medisim) and 38.6 ± 0.3 °C (Core); Medisim was significantly higher than T re (p < 0.05). The temperature profiles of the heat flux systems during exercise differed to varying degree from the rectal profiles; the Medisim system showed a faster increase during exercise than T re (0.48 ± 0.25 °C in 20 min, p < 0.05), the Core system tended to show a systematic overestimation during the entire exercise period and the 3 M system showed large errors at the end of exercise, likely due to sweat entering the sensor. Therefore, the interpretation of heat flux sensor values as core body temperature estimates should be done with care; more research is required to elucidate the physiological significance of the generated temperature values. • Heat flux sensors used to assess body core temperature are error prone. • The 3 M system, intended for clinal use, fails during exercise due to protruding sweat. • The Medisim system underestimates low and overestimates high body core temperatures. • The Core systems is easy to use, but tends to overestimate body core temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]