Kristina
Derro
Veteran
Disability Lawyer
The
U.S. Army is currently awaiting the delivery
of 1,000 blast sensor packs to help specialists assess how soldiers are
affected during and after exposure to explosions. The packs, called Soldier
Body Units (SBU), consist of four sensors: the sensors collect data from the
head and chest areas when soldiers are exposed to explosions to help determine
if the blast could - or did - lead to a concussion or traumatic brain injury.
The
SBU, which is worn like a small backpack, weighs a mere two pounds, and is
always recording information, collecting data as part of a larger system, the
Integrated Blast Effects Sensor Suite (I-BESS), which included sensors that are
placed in vehicles for a wider range of blast environment assessment. Previous
blast gauge systems recorded data only when sensing "overpressure."
The
sensors were developed in a joint project between the Georgia Tech Research
Institute and the U.S. Army's Rapid Equipping Force (REF). The goal is to have
the new sensor system in place in time to deploy them with troops in
Afghanistan before their scheduled withdraw in 2014. The data collected will
then be processed by the Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in
Combat, and the information examined by medical professionals to help assess
when soldiers have had undetected head injuries.
Currently, the sensors cost approximately $2,500 each to produce - a steep climb from just $75 per unit to manufacture the old blast gauges, but the hope is that the cost will drop as SBUs are mass produced and the design is streamlined. The Army also is working to install floor-and seat-mounted accelerometers in more than 40 vehicles, to measure blast impact on soldiers who are inside vehicles when hit by improvised explosive devices. Engineers plan to install I-BESS sensors into vehicles currently in Afghanistan, rather than ship new vehicles there.
Currently, the sensors cost approximately $2,500 each to produce - a steep climb from just $75 per unit to manufacture the old blast gauges, but the hope is that the cost will drop as SBUs are mass produced and the design is streamlined. The Army also is working to install floor-and seat-mounted accelerometers in more than 40 vehicles, to measure blast impact on soldiers who are inside vehicles when hit by improvised explosive devices. Engineers plan to install I-BESS sensors into vehicles currently in Afghanistan, rather than ship new vehicles there.
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