I-BESS sensor package (via US Army)
The US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force and researchers from Georgia Tech Research Institute is set to outfit 1,000 soldiers with a sensor package that collects data on trauma associated with explosions. While that may sound grim, the data collected could be invaluable for creating medical procedures and gear that could help save the lives of soldiers in the near future. In fact, they could help prevent serious brain injuries while personnel use the sensors. It is not uncommon for soldiers who sustain concussions to pretend that their fine in order to remain in an engagement. They cannot hide that fact from their platoon leaders, who could simply check the sensor data. The collaboration of researchers designed the I-BESS (Integrated Blast Effects Sensor Suite) to be worn on both the front and back (2 sensors per side) of the soldier’s plate-carrier (body armor). The sensors collect continuous data, which is stored on an on-board computer (unknown at this time) that’s protected by a thick plastic shroud and powered by two 3-volt batteries. The whole set-up weighs in at 2lbs (and costs $2,500 US per unit), which will not go over with the soldiers to well as each piece of equipment carried amasses weight which limits the soldier’s movement capabilities. However, the Army states that the sensor weight could be cut down to a half pound in the near future, as the first 1,000 units are actually prototypes and can be refined to make them smaller.
The Army says that the I-BESS sensor system will be down-range in Afghanistan by next month (August 2012), which 700 will be given to soldiers in RC-East (Regional Command East), 200 to the US Army Special Operations Command and 100 will be handed to Stryker units. Soldiers will not be the only ones to receive the I-BESS sensors though as the Army plans on outfitting 42 vehicles, such as Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles (MRAPS) and the MaxxPro Dash (Armored Fighting Vehicle), with accelerometers mounted to the floors and seats to collect trauma data on persons who encounter IED’s. These sensors are more sensitive over the previous generation that was fielded, as they were only ‘tripped’ (set-off) when exposed to a blast’s overpressure, which is lessened inside the vehicle itself. The data the sensor packages acquire is coded for each individual. Each user will provide base-line (healthy/normal) parameters for data contrasts that can be compared after being exposed to blast trauma. This is done by using Sync-Think’s Eye-Tracking Rapid Attention Computation assessment tool, which tracks eye movement by following a dot that moves inside of a circle. Personnel with concussions or brain trauma have an increasingly difficult time focusing on the dot which is then compared to their base-line parameters. While the readings will not produce instant results from the data collected, it will enable scientists to garner a better understanding of blast trauma effects on the human body which could lead to better protection and field expedient medical care that could save soldiers’ lives in the near future.
Cabe