Medical Technology
Abstract
This program element (PE) supports application of knowledge gained through basic research to refine drugs, vaccines, medical devices, diagnostics, medical practices/procedures, and other preventive measures essential to the protection and sustainment of Warfighter health. Research is conducted in five principal areas: Combat Casualty Care; Military Operational Medicine; Military Relevant Infectious Diseases Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine; and Systems Biology/Network Sciences. Research is funded in six projects. Project 869 refines knowledge and technologies on screening tools and preventive measures for post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injuries, physiological monitors, and interventions to protect Warfighter's from injuries resulting from operational stress, and exposure to hazardous environments and materials. Also conducts research on medically valid testing devices (i.e. the test mannequins that are true to the human form and physiologically and anatomically accurate) and predictive models used for the refinement of Warfighter protective equipment. This project is being coordinated with the Defense Health Program. Project 870 designs and refines medical diagnostic assays/tests, drugs, and vaccines for protection from and treatment of naturally occurring diseases, wound infections of military importance, as identified by worldwide medical surveillance and military threat analysis. This project is being coordinated with the Defense Health Program. Project 874 identifies and evaluates drugs, biologics (products derived from living organisms), medical devices, and diagnostics for field trauma care systems, resuscitation, life support, and post-evacuation restorative and rehabilitative care. Focus is identifying more effective critical care technologies and protocols to treat severe bleeding, traumatic brain injury and other blast related injuries, and treatments for ocular (eye) injury and visual system dysfunction. Additional focus areas are laboratory and animal studies of regenerating skin, muscle, nerves, and bone tissue for the care and treatment of combat trauma casualties. This project is being coordinated with the Defense Health Program. Project FH2 conducts applied research focused on sustainment of a healthy Warfighters throughout the entire deployment life cycle. Project VB4 includes applied research in systems biology of military-relevant diseases such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), coagulopathy (blood clotting disorders), suicide, and chronic pain. Another focus is environmental exposure toxicology (study of the biology of harm from toxic substances in the environment). The goals are to understand mechanisms (processes and pathways), develop molecular and physiological markers (biological molecules as indicators of the body's functions such as immune response) for future diagnostic systems, and identify therapeutic interventions supporting early decisions for therapeutic strategies. The core capability is a data system that integrates iterative (successively building upon data and results) biological tests, computer simulations, and animal studies, providing powerful analyses in support of research across United States Army Medical Research & Materiel Command. This project is being coordinated with the Defense Health Program. The cited work is consistent with the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Research and Engineering Science and Technology, focus areas and the Army Modernization Strategy. All medical applied research is conducted in compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. The FDA requires thorough testing in animals (preclinical testing) to ensure safety and, where possible, effectiveness prior to evaluation in controlled human clinical trials (upon transition to 6.3 Advanced Technology Development). This PE focuses on research and refinement of technologies such as product formulation and purification and laboratory test refinement with the aim of identifying candidate solutions. This work often involves testing in animal models. The EPA also requires thorough testing of products, such as sterilants, disinfectants, repellents, and insecticides to ensure the environment is adequately protected before these products are licensed for use. Program refinement and execution is externally peer-reviewed and fully coordinated with all Services as well as other agencies through the Joint Technology Coordinating Groups of the Armed Services Biomedical Research Evaluation and Management (ASBREM) Community of Interest (COI). The ASBREM COI, formed under the authority of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, serves to facilitate coordination and prevent unnecessary duplication of effort within the Department of Defenses (DoD) biomedical research and refinement community, as well as their associated enabling research areas. Work funded in this project PE is fully coordinated with efforts undertaken in PE 0603002A and the Defense Health Program. Work in this PE is performed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), Silver Spring, MD and its overseas laboratories; U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM), Fort Detrick, MD; U.S. Army Center for Environmental Health Research (USACEHR), Fort Detrick, MD; U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), Natick, MA; the U.S. Army Dental Trauma Research Detachment and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR), Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX; U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL), Fort Rucker, AL; and the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), Silver Spring, MD.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2016
- Source ID
- 0602787A_2_2040_PB_2016
- Change Summary Explanation
- Service Agency Name
- Army
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army
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