N13A-T021 TITLE: Body-worn sensors for monitoring warrior physical and mental state

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Biomedical, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: TECOM - Squad Immersive Training Enviroment (SITE)

OBJECTIVE: Develop body-worn non-invasive and non-intrusive technologies to monitor the ‘state-of-the-warrior’.

DESCRIPTION: Technologies that enable human state monitoring (physical and mental) tend to be rigid and cumbersome. They oftentimes fail when mounted on the body or they require research lab or clinical settings in which to operate.

What is needed is technology that is highly form-fitting, and doesn’t interfere with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and gear. This technology must not irritate or add additional burdens (e.g. weight) to the individual being monitored. The ideal technology is a body-worn device (e.g. tattoo). In addition to the hardware technology, a software framework is needed to analyze and describe findings in a user friendly manner to the individuals.

The hardware technology developed must be able to monitor and capture data for physiological signals such as blood pressure, EMG, EKG, EEG, pulse oximetry, and temperature. It must also have basic abilities to amplify, and filter each of these modalities simultaneously. The technology developed must be able to support (i) data collection over hours and, more preferably, over days; (ii) and the capability to download or transmit wireless to a handheld device.

The software technology must integrate data across the sensors and provide a cross space/time/modality perspective of the dynamics of the individual’s state and how they co-vary with context and/or pathology. These methods must be tightly integrated to exploit the physiology, spatial placement, and the physics of each modality to succinctly describe the dynamics of the individual state.
Demonstration of a capability to extract energy in part from the body’s kinematics or temperature gradients will be particularly noteworthy. Methods that use a detailed understanding of the body’s physiology to optimize the sensor design, sensor placement, and to guide the signal processing will be particularly noteworthy.

PHASE I: Determine the technical feasibility for a system that can extract one or more of the following signals in a reliable manner: ECG, EEG, EMG, skin temperature.

PHASE II: Design and develop a proof-of-concept prototype system that can extract one or more of the following signals in a reliable manner: ECG, EEG, EMG, skin temperature. Also, demonstrate the reliability over an extended period of time (24-48 hours). Further demonstrate reliable signal capture over time with multiple devices on multiple participants, and demonstrate how these signals compare with more traditional non-portable signal acquisition strategies. Demonstrate that the signals reliably correlate with the physiological and cognitive state (stressed, fatigued) of the human participant as determined by traditional psychomotor tests. Clarify both commercial civilian and military applications, and draft notional business plans for each.

PHASE III: Conduct field testing of the sensor and signal processing technology in both military and commercial (e.g., medical) environments. Show low-rate production feasibility. Demonstrate utility to operational military unit leadership, as a way to characterize individual and unit readiness. Identify and demonstrate application to closed-loop training settings.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Commercial extensions of this technology include: 1) Brain-computer interfaces for consumer electronics; 2) Athlete performance monitoring (health, exercise, nutrition); and 3) Continuous Health Monitoring.

REFERENCES:
1. D. H. Kim, et al., "Epidermal Electronics", Science 333, 838 (2011)

2. C. A. Hewitt, et al, "Multilayered Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composite Based Thermoelectric Fabrics", Nano Letters (2012).