The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is studying wearable health technologies to enhance how emergency responders operate, according to Gayle DeBord, director of the Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technology at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health within CDC.

In an interview with Nextgov, DeBord noted that CDC intends to publish a technical report on the landscape of sensors in healthcare, but says that the agency is currently in the “research phase” of such efforts. To that end, CDC researchers will be organizing focus groups and workshops to learn more about how sensors can paint a more detailed picture of emergency environments, to eventually enhance first responder preparation and deployment. The report, however, won’t be released until late 2017.

“All the sensors are out there like Fitbit, these health sensors. How can we use those to better gauge what’s in the environment?” DeBord says. “Environmental health has really embraced the sensor world.”

For instance, she said that first responders would benefit from sensors in buildings to prioritize and streamline their efforts.

Beginning in October 2014, the Federal Emergency Management Agency integrated automated patient tracking capability into its emergency first responder training at the Center for Domestic Preparedness. The mobile-enabled software is viewed as a critical aspect to incident response, according to FEMA leaders.