Scientists at GE Global Research, which is our technology development arm, have joined forces with the U.S. Army in a two-year research study to evaluate soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). The project at Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia will combine the horsepower of GE’s labs with a range of GE’s current, and future, slate of Home Health technologies. Using advanced analytics to identify key symptoms of these disorders — which are still very difficult to measure and quantify — GE researchers hope to gather new information that will enable earlier detection, intervention and treatment of soldiers.
Ready to roll: The study is managed by the Department of Defenses’ Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) to support wounded soldiers. Researchers from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center and the Center For Telehealth at the Medical College of Georgia are also part of the team. Pictured above are medics at Salerno Air field hospital in the Khost province of Afghanistan. (Photo: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)
The incidence of TBI and PTSD has risen over time as more soldiers have been deployed, and in some cases, redeployed to combat zones. Researchers say that the increased use of roadside bombs in the combat zones could translate into as many as 20 percent to 30 percent of returning soldiers experiencing the symptoms of TBI. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the cause of tramautic brain injury can vary, from the severe – such as a “penetrating head injury” — to a “bump, blow or jolt to the head… that disrupts the normal function of the brain.” The CDC notes that “the severity of a TBI may range from ‘mild,’ i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to ’severe,’ i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury.” The National Institutes of Mental Health define post-traumatic stress disorder as “an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.”
GE researchers will use passive activity sensors to study the sleep quality, rest, activity cycles and brain activity of wounded soldiers. They will then measure, analyze and correlate the data with the symptoms of TBI and PTSD to help the military better assess the physical, behavioral, and occupational symptoms of these disorders. A key goal of the program is to establish a clinical relationship between activity, sleep and the severity of symptoms. The project will use existing and future versions of GE’s QuietCare technologies, which are currently being used in assisted living residents for senior citizens. The technology uses motion sensors and analytical software to learn the daily living patterns of residents — and then send alerts when certain out-of-the-ordinary events occur.
* Read today’s announcement
* Learn more about GE’s military support
* Read a fact sheet about the more than 11,000 U.S. veterans we employ
* Connect with our technologists on the Global Research blog
* Read more GE Global Research stories on GE Reports
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* “From GE Global Research to Camp Liberty, Baghdad”
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* “G.I. GE: Sniffing out explosives with the U.S. Army”
* “Renewing American Leadership: Immelt at West Point”
* “Manufacturing in Massachusetts: Send in the Marines”
* “The military precision driving GE’s precision products”
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