Closer to Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on the Battlefield?

The 7^th generation BlackBox Biometrics Blast Gauge (B3G7) is a trial sensor being fielded with U.S. troops in an effort to help diagnose and mitigate traumatic brain injuries on the battlefield. The roughly 2-inch by 1-inch device attaches to the chest, shoulder, and helmet, and different colored indicators let users immediately know the PSI range of a concussive blast after detonation.

The effort’s significance has been highlighted by the recent response to Iranian missile strikes on an al-Asad air base in Iraq in early January and the subsequent delayed diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in stationed troops. TBI is difficult to diagnose, and the B3G7 sensors can offer leaders data that can be useful in early diagnosis. "We need to explore all these facets to try to understand the relationship, cause and effect relationship or simply relationships or linkages between environmental exposures such as blast overpressure to health and performance indices," said former Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center director Kathy Lee during a roundtable in early March.