Military medicine
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Tissue injuries are often associated with abnormal blood flow (BF). The ability to assess BF distributions in injured tissues enables objective evaluation of interventions and holds the potential to improve the acute management of these injuries on battlefield. ⋯ The unique noncontact 3D imaging capability makes the scDCT applicable for intraoperative assessment of burns/wounds, without risk of infection and without interfering with sterility of the surgical field. The portable scDCT device holds the potential to be used by surgeons in combat surgical hospitals to improve the acute management of battlefield burn injuries.
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Although concussion continues to be a major source of acute and chronic injuries, concussion injury mechanisms and risk functions are ill-defined. This lack of definition has hindered efforts to develop standardized concussion monitoring, safety testing, and protective countermeasures. To overcome this knowledge gap, we have developed, tested, and deployed a head impact monitoring mouthguard (IMM) system. ⋯ While these data are useful for preliminary human tolerance limits, a larger population must be used to quantify real-world dose response as a function of impact magnitude, direction, location, and accumulation. This work is ongoing.
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Powered prostheses are a promising new technology that may help people with lower-limb loss improve their ability to perform locomotion tasks. Developing active prostheses requires robust design methodologies and intelligent controllers to appropriately provide assistance to the user for varied tasks in different environments. The purpose of this study was to validate an impedance control strategy for a powered knee and ankle prosthesis using an embedded sensor suite of encoders and a six-axis load cell that would aid an individual in performing common locomotion tasks, such as level walking and ascending/descending slopes. ⋯ This work presents a strategy that requires minimal tuning for a powered knee & ankle prosthesis that scales across a nominal range of both walking speeds and ramp slopes.
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Attempting to expedite delivery of care to wounded war fighters, this study aimed to quantify the ability of medical and surgical teams to perform lifesaving damage control and resuscitation procedures aboard nontraditional US Navy Vessels on high seas. Specifically, it looked at the ability of the teams to perform procedures in shipboard operating and emergency rooms by analyzing motion of personnel during the procedures. ⋯ This shows that the working conditions aboard the US Naval Ship Brunswick were satisfactory for the assigned tasks, indicating that these medical operations may be feasible aboard nontraditional US Navy vessels.
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Despite efforts in prevention, suicide rates in the US military remain unchanged. This article describes the development of a tool for leaders to identify and mitigate suicide risk factors. ⋯ This study provides initial psychometric data on a tool that prescribes concrete responses to mitigate risk. The LSRAT may be a valid and feasible tool to assist front-line commanders in identifying potential area's risk mitigation. Synchronization efforts between commanders, clinicians, and support services are crucial to ensure effective intervention to prevent suicide behavior.