Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
The Program Executive Office Soldier over the past year has been collecting data from nearly 7,000 sensors mounted on helmets in Iraq and Afghanistan to collect data on blast trauma from improvised explosive devices, the Army News Service reported. From March 2008 to March 2009, the sensors collected data on concussive forces, including helmet acceleration and blast pressure, with the data ultimately to be used in developing equipment that better protects soldiers.
“The sensors provide the Army with the ability to capture blast pressure data in order to better understand the forces acting on the helmet and the forces translated to the soldier’s head,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jon Rickey, product manager of soldier protective equipment at PEO Soldier.
So far, more than 150,000 sensor recordings have been logged into the test database, according to the Army News Service. Data from the sensors were downloaded either monthly or following an attack or other incident. The Army is planning soon to field a second-generation of the sensor that weighs less, collects and stores more detailed data and transfers the data wirelessly instead of requiring download via USB cable.
Participants in the project, which used sensors located both inside and outside the helmets, included soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, which deployed to Iraq, and the 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division, which deployed to Afghanistan. More information on the project is available at www.peosoldier.army.mil.
In other news, the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Md., in a recent article in the Journal of Trauma provided details on a study of 418 patients with penetrating or closed head injuries suffered during Operation Iraqi Freedom between April 2003 and April 2008. Of that total, 228 had penetrating traumatic brain injuries (TBI), 139 had severe closed TBI, and 41 had an unspecified type of TBI. The most common injury cause was by an explosive blast. Complications included spinal cord injury, meningitis and pulmonary embolism. Additional reports on research from NNMC and other DoD groups is available at www.health.mil.
Emergency H1N1 Test Approved
The Food and Drug Administration in late August authorized the emergency use of a 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test on overseas U.S. troops. Defense Department laboratories with the required equipment and trained personnel will be able to use the test and interpret its results, the FDA said in a press release.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the test, which is called the CDC swH1N1 (swine) Influenza Real-Time RT-PCR. DoD’s Joint Biological Agent Identification and Diagnostic System can be used to run the test.
“The FDA worked quickly with the Defense Department to authorize the use of this test to better protect our troops,” said Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret A. Hamburg in a statement. “The test will aid in more rapid diagnosis of 2009 H1N1 influenza infections so that deployed troops can quickly begin appropriate medical treatment.”
VA Undertakes Three-Year Prosthetic Study
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched a three-year study of a hightech prosthetic arm that lets users pick up and hold keys, pencils and other small objects.
Dr. Linda Resnik at the Providence, R.I., VA Medical Center is directing the new study of the already developed arm, which the VA plans eventually to commercialize and make available through the VA health system, the VA said in a press release.
The control system of the arm works rather like a foot-operated joystick, the VA said, with sensors embedded in a shoe that permit the user to move the arm by putting pressure on different parts of the foot. Currently, the system uses wires to send the signals for arm movement, but developers plan eventually to make the system wireless. Other control systems that could potentially be used for the arm include myoelectric switches connected to nerve and muscles in the upper body and activated by brain activity.
Other prosthetic research from the VA includes vision and hearing aids and equipment for more easily navigating automobiles and homes. More information on VA prosthetic programs is available at www.prosthetics.va.gov.
CORRECTION:
In the August issue of MMT, MinXray special project manager Gene Mrava’s name was misspelled in the feature “X-rays at the Front Lines.” In addition, the feature mistakenly referred to “computer” radiology instead of “computed” radiology. We apologize for the errors.