Micro Saint Model of Fatigue Assessment
Abstract
Opportunities for fatigue-related accidents are greatest when extended duty cycles must be maintained. A means to plan for the influence of fatigue would be useful to best utilize crew resources. An equation was derived that predicts performance degradation associated with fatigued cognitive abilities. During a 30 hour sleep deprivation study, 9 male subjects were required to perform a 45 minute performance battery every 120 minutes and variables sensitive to fatigue were determined. Plasma melatonin levels also were obtained. Composite response time and accuracy scores were then derived. The equation that best described the composite scores included a linear component (hours awake weighting) and a circadian component (melatonin weighting). The respective prediction equations accounted for 36.7% and 36.9% of the variance in response time performance and 12.4% and 19.9% of the accuracy performance (p .001). These percents indicate that accuracy predictions were more enhanced by the circadian component than were those for response time. This work represents a mathematical description of fatigued performance that is sensitive to circadian cycles and requires minimal input data. The results might be used to recommend when additional crew should be employed as performance falls below critical thresholds or the best crew rest times during sustained operations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 14, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA249976
Entities
People
- Jonathan French