U.S. Army Funding Device to Detect TBIs on the Battlefield

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are different than other injuries. Broken legs or arms typically heal, and you move on with your life. Traumatic brain injuries, on the other hand, can affect you for the rest of your life. Depending on the severity, TBIs can cause headaches, cognitive problems, mood swings, memory loss, abnormal speech, loss of movement of limbs, and coma.

Traumatic brain injuries are often caused by a severe blow or jolt to the head, which jostles the brain against the inner walls of the skull. Even a situation where your neck whips back and forth can cause your brain to jostle and result in a TBI.  Depending on the intensity of the blow, this can lead to bruising or bleeding around or in the brain. An incident that results in penetration of the skull and/or brain can also cause a TBI.

It is critical that someone who is experiencing signs and symptoms of a TBI get medical attention immediately. Although medical treatment is unlikely to reverse the brain trauma, treatment can be initiated to reduce the severity of the trauma and prevent further damage. In a military situation, chaos on the battlefield often prevents timely diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries. Since 2000, more than 370,000 service members have been diagnosed with first-time TBIs. Keep in mind the total number of TBIs to service members is actually much higher, as this statistic only counts first-time TBIs.

Quickly assessing brain injuries on the field

In October, the Army awarded a $10 million contract to a company called Neural Analytics to develop a device that can quickly diagnose a combat-related brain injury and its severity, while in the field at the location of the injury. The device would be portable and allow a person with little or no training to quickly assess a moderate or severe TBI. The company plans to design the device so it can be operated by anyone with about 30 minutes of training.

Leo Petrossian, CEO of Neural Analytics, says they have been working on the software for about four years. It is not designed to give medics extra information, he added, but the software actually analyzes and “thinks” for the user instead, giving them the data they need to let a medic know how bad an injury is.

The next step in the development process is designing hardware that is rugged enough to withstand the rigors of all branches of the military. Then, the product goes into two years of testing and approvals before it can go into the manufacturing stage. Neural Analytics eventually plans to sell the product for civilian use after successful military use.

A traumatic brain injury can alter your or your loved one’s entire life. The compassionate and experienced attorneys at Harris Lowry Manton LLP work to find out who is responsible for your TBI and how it might have been avoided. You deserve compensation for your injuries. To arrange a no-obligation consultation, call us at 404-961-7650 at our Atlanta office, or in Savannah at 912-651-9967, or fill out our contact form.