NHRC Tests Novel Biothreat Early Warning System Aboard USS Essex at RIMPAC

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – While participating nations gather for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) leads a critical new research initiative to safeguard Sailors' health and readiness.

Essex is piloting a comprehensive biothreat early warning system with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), and Naval Surface Warfare Center. The project aims to give Navy leadership early, actionable data to identify and mitigate emerging health threats from any source by using cutting-edge wearable technology and advanced wastewater surveillance.

"Data from wearable devices, wastewater, and medical records each capture only part of the picture on their own," said Lt. Joseph Gordon III, research physiologist at NHRC. "When integrated, they provide insight that supports early detection and can limit the spread of a biological threat across the ship."

A key part of the pilot program is wastewater sampling, currently tested while the ship is docked pier-side during RIMPAC. Using existing shipboard infrastructure, engineers fitted specialized sampling adaptors to the ship’s collection, holding, and transfer overboard discharge risers and sampling port. Samples from these risers are sent to labs for polymerase chain reaction analysis and next-generation sequencing. This process lets medical teams quickly detect known pathogens and novel variants before symptoms appear among the crew.

Future phases of the project aim to engineer dedicated sampling ports for continuous underway monitoring, further expanding the Navy's environmental surveillance footprint.

In addition to wastewater monitoring, the project includes wearable research where about 200 Sailors aboard Essex volunteered to wear Oura Rings during RIMPAC. These devices track physiological data like sleep patterns, resting heart rate, and body temperature, which illness prediction algorithms use.

The wearable component aligns with ongoing human performance optimization efforts, specifically the Command, Readiness, Endurance, and Watchstanding (CREW) system, developed in partnership between NHRC and MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL). As the technical lead on the effort, MIT LL is developing the system and fine-tuning and incorporating illness prediction algorithms within the CREW infrastructure. The CREW team hopes to create a holistic dashboard that monitors both fatigue and potential outbreaks, to be used throughout the Navy.

Data from wastewater sampling and wearable devices will be integrated into a broader bio-surveillance information portal. This centralized cloud-based dashboard will support tactical and strategic decision-making, letting leaders adjust operations based on real-time medical readiness projections.

Thirty-one nations, 36 surface ships, 5 submarines, 15 national land forces, more than 206 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 24 to July 31. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC, provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans. RIMPAC 26 is the 30th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

NHRC, part of Navy Medicine Research & Development, supports Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighter readiness and lethality with research and development that delivers high-value, high-impact solutions to the health challenges the U.S. military population faces on the battlefield, at sea, at home, and abroad.