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VTT Oulu for stimulating research meetings. Special thanks go to Albrecht Schmidt
with whom I spent many hours on the telephone and in face-to-face meetings. He
provided me a great support in hardware developments, thank you very much for
your advices.
This work was also funded by the interdisciplinary polyproject “Miniaturized Wear-
able Computing: Technology and Applications” of ETH Zurich. Therefore, I am
also very grateful to Prof. Tröster for the opportunity to contribute and participate
in this project.
Additionally, I received great support from Manuel Genswein and Dr. Hermann
Brugger, president of Medical Commission (MedCom) from the International Com-
mission for Alpine Rescue (IKAR). I further want to thank Karl Frehsner, the former
head coach of the men’s Swiss ski racing team, for the inspiring discussions.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my family for their help, encouragement,
and emotional support. In addition, my friends provided assistance in di cult as
well as joyous moments. Special thanks go to Angela and Juri, for their patience,
love and support.
I dedicate this work to my son Juri, born in August 2004, and to my father Hans
Michahelles who is missing in my and my family’s life since April 1994.
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