The Army wants to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with major injuries in far-forward environments including mobile and brief engagements. Rugged and light-weight physiological sensors are needed which can be attached to the soldier immediately following injury to rapidly assess his medical status and continuously monitor treatment as he is moved along an evacuation path. Keeping a casualty alive requires that vital organs and tissues be supplied with oxygen transported by circulating blood. In Phase I NeuroPhysics demonstrated the feasibility of using in vivo near infrared absorption spectroscopy (VIRAS) to measure the oxygen content of hemoglobin at depths sufficient to reach internal organs like the liver and brain while suppressing interference from the overlying tissue. The Phase II objective is the development and testing of prototype devices for assessing; (1) liver-blood physiology, (2) brain trauma, and (3) the amount of functional hemoglobin available in arterial blood. (1) and (3) will be tested on animal models while the brain trauma device will be compared to other modalities (CT, MRI, etc.) on actual human head injuries. A report will be delivered describing the devices and the results of testing as well as working prototypes.
Benefits: The potential benefit are new medical monitoring devices that can provide life-saving information in battlefield casualties and serious civilian injuries as well as assessing oxygenation of vital organs in emergency rooms, surgery, intensive care, circulatory disease, etc.
