MHSRS www.tacticaldefensemedia.com | Q3 2012 Commander’s Corner MG M. Ted Wong Commanding General Southern Regional Medical Command Permit #701 Permit Lebanon Junction, KY Junction, Lebanon PAID Brooke Army Medical Center U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Chief, U.S. Army Dental Corps Head Trauma Diagnostics/Brain Monitoring TACEVAC DARPA Blast Gauge MRAP Ambulance Online and In Combat Advanced Data, Enhanced Outcomes NTTC Be heard the first time... Dual In-Ear Headset with Hear Pro & Combat Awareness... Proud Headset Supplier to US SOCOM for over 25 years! Take Full Control of Multiple Radios and Vehicle Intercoms ... Photo by HBL Productions, LLC ® Tactical Headset and Multi-Com System The Digital Ears® System by INVISIO® allows tactical operators to integrate and take full control of multiple radio or communication devices and also adapt on the fly for use on ground vehicles, watercraft, aircraft intercom systems and even select mobile phones and tablets devices. 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NY 845-278-0960 - TX 469-362-0121 CA 310-457-7401 - IN 574-264-7217 Contract Visit us on facebook GS-07F-0277K TEA | SWATheadsets.com 2012© Television Equipment Associates, Inc., All rights reserved Photo Credit: U.S. Army Combat & Casualty Care Q3 2012 Features Recurring Highlights Industry Partner Brain Monitoring Handheld, electronic apps and enhanced signal processing may soon join forces to enable the field combat medic to monitor on-the-spot 3 casualty brain function. 16 By Robert N. Schmidt and Stéphane Bibian Advancing Data, Enhancing Outcomes Head Trauma Diagnostics Remote Diagnostic Technologies, Ltd Advances in helmet sensor technology are enabling early diagnosis of (RDT) provides multi-level, multi-point blast-related brain injury for mapping future head trauma effects. data accessibility for care optimization. 6 By Donnie Bowser By Roz Thomas DARPA Dots TACEVAC Quantifying Blast From casualty stabilization to rapid evac, the U.S. Air Force PJs use 20 Exposure, Countering TBI some of the world’s most advanced techniques and equipment for By Jeff Rodgers 13 getting casualties moving. By Richard Batory Training Center of Excellence NTTC 22 The U.S. Navy Trauma Training Center MedEvac Spotlight: MRAP Ambulance (NTTC) provides pre-deployment From poor urban infrastructure to rugged rural terrain, the MAXX-PRO trauma care experience for combat Tactical Ambulance brings capability and mobility to the rescue. and humanitarian response readiness. 30 By Shean Phelps By Shean Phelps Online and In Combat C&CC brings readers the latest 26 installment in a featured look at current opps for deployed servicemembers Commander’s Corner seeking a higher education. MG M. Ted Wong By Shean Phelps Commanding General Southern Regional Medical Command Departments Brooke Army Medical Center 9 Chief, U.S. Army Dental Corps 24 MedTech 31 Ad Index/Events Calendar www.tacticaldefensemedia.com Combat & Casualty Care | Q3 2012 | 1 Insights Effective first response casualty trauma care is becoming as much a prognostics-oriented science as a diagnostics-based one. Hi tech sensory equipment is measuring today in a microsecond what once took hours to achieve. Single-source point of collection tools and techniques are helping medical first responders to better manage unseen developmental conditions such as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the signature wound of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conservative estimates put the number of U.S. warfighters who have experienced TBI at more than 200,000. A new Blast Gauge technology, under test at DARPA, provides wearable Combat & Casualty Care ISSN: 2159-7103 quantitative means for measuring blast related exposure, providing a mechanism for medical Online ISSN: 2159-7197 personnel to better identify those at risk for TBI by collecting quantitative data on the effects is published quarterly by of blast impact to the human body. Tactical Defense Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without In this, the Q3 2012 Issue of Combat & Casualty Care (C&CC), we spotlight medical permission is strictly forbidden. ©2012 readiness support from a U.S. Army perspective offering an insightful interview with MG M. Ted Wong, Commander, U.S. Southern Regional Medical Command (SRMC) and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), Ft. Sam Houston. In an exclusive interview, MG Wong C&CC is free to members of the U.S. military, tells C&CC about the Army’s largest medical region and a healthcare system with military employees of the U.S. government, treatment facilities spread over 11 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and first responders, EMS personnel, and comprising three tertiary care and academic medical centers; six community hospitals; two non-U.S. foreign service based in the U.S. community health centers; and 38 outlying health clinics. Mailing Address In scenarios requiring casualty response in austere environments, the evolution of tactical Tactical Defense Media, Inc. ambulatory care is ensuring responder arrival, advanced treatment en-route and casualty Leisure World Plaza transition to stationary care. For those casualties requiring immediate evacuation to more formal care centers, technique in tactical evacuation (TACEVAC) perfected by special PO Box 12115 operations forces (SOF) units, such as the U.S. Air Force Pararescue PJs, is raising the Silver Spring, MD 20908-0115 USA standardized methodologies bar, pushing the envelope of capabilities-driven response. Telephone: (301) 974-9792 Fax: (443) 637-3714 From patient care to the data enabling this care, advances in information accessibility are www.TacticalDefenseMedia.com providing a pathway for critical identifiers to reach next-stage responders ahead of expected casualties. With this advance data in hand, doctors can better pinpoint response needs, enhancing patient outcomes. Effective medical training is happening through institutional Bi-Monthly Publications partnering with the U.S. Navy Trauma Training Center (NTTC) and Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center (LAC USC). Using the combined skills and lessons learned across military and civil sectors, organizations are better preparing medics to face realities beyond the classroom before they leave it. Be sure not to miss our regular look at the online educational opportunities for servicemembers in this issue’s installment of “Online and In Combat”. Quarterly Publications As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. Shean Phelps Editor Combat & Casualty Care [email protected] DoD 301-974-9792 Coming 2012 Letter to the Editor DoUnmannedD TDM- TechSolutions Special Sections Your publications are great! Jan Mar Kurt Delia Rifles Owner and Lead Product Designer &Handguns Delia Tactical International LLC Aug Sep Nov COMPLIMENTARY NightVision SUBSCRIPTION &Optics www.tacticaldefensemedia.com | Scan the code to sign up now! 2 | Combat & Casualty Care | Q3 2012 www.tacticaldefensemedia.com Brain Monitoring of the Future By Robert N. Schmidt and Stéphane Bibian NeuroWave Systems Inc. in the field. In total, there were 233,425 DoD TBI injuries between 2000 and 2011. Recent investments by the military are making it likely If left untreated, TBI can result in permanent brain that the warfighter medic of the future will have the ability to damage, hemiplegia, amnesia, epilepsy, loss of speech, monitor brain functions and treat brain trauma directly during hearing and/or vision, increased risk of Alzheimer’s and medical transport and on the battlefield. The development Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders/insomnia, Post of state-of-the-art signal processing algorithms, together Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), attention deficit, anxiety, with the miniaturization of the acquisition and processing and depression. Over 5 million Americans suffer from some electronics, will make it possible for medics to get all the form of TBI-related disability and have a long-term need for benefits of brain monitors, directly in the field, and with help to perform normal day-to-day activities. minimal burden. Rapid recognition of TBI is paramount, but since 98.4% Two major questions need to be answered by the of TBI injuries were non-penetrating, much better tools are military medic: 1) Do warfighters have brain trauma that needed to properly diagnose these injuries. Undiagnosed will potentially incapacitate or kill them if they are quickly warfighters may not receive follow-up observation, and be returned to duty, and 2) Can the severely injured be quickly returned to duty while still being vulnerable to a secondary and safely sedated to evacuate them to a higher echelon injury. Repeated injury can lead to much more severe forms facility? We provide a vision to solve both of these issues of TBI and affect the warfighter’s long term quality of life and here. ability to function in their every-day environment. Finally, warfighters with undiagnosed TBI may pose additional risks Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosis to their team members,