Battlefield M.R.I.s

Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines stateside allow medical staff to get a better look at tissue in the human body, including the brain. The M.R.I. trailer in Kandahar, Afghanistan allows battlefield doctors to traumatic brain injury and its effects on service members on the front lines.

Video provided by American Forces Network Afghanistan

Antarctic Medical Evacuation

Patient is currently stable but may require corrective surgery

National Science Foundation (NSF) officials have set in motion the necessary steps to airlift a patient from McMurdo Station, one of three year-round stations NSF maintains in Antarctica. The patient's condition may require treatment beyond what can be provided at the station's medical facility.

The patient, whose identity NSF is not releasing, is currently stable but may require immediate corrective surgery best delivered at a more capable facility than is available at McMurdo. The facility at McMurdo is equivalent to an urgent-care center in the U.S., and is not equipped for the type of procedure being contemplated.

As no U.S. aircraft are in a position to respond quickly to the situation, NSF has reached an agreement with the Australian Antarctic Division, which manages Australia's Antarctic research program, to make available an Australian A319 Airbus to fly the patient out. The Royal New Zealand Air Force will provide search-and-rescue coverage for the flight to and from McMurdo Station.

The three nations' Antarctic research programs have existing agreements under which such assets may be shared as needed.

Preparations are underway to ready the ice runway, known as Pegasus, near McMurdo Station for a flight near the end of this week, local time, weather permitting. (U.S. stations in Antarctica keep New Zealand time.). Pegasus is one of only a very few runways in Antarctica that can accommodate wheeled aircraft.

Antarctica is currently emerging from its six-months-long night, so there is a period of twilight at mid-day that could assist pilots in landing on the ice runway.

The evacuation flight comes shortly before a regularly-scheduled series of late winter flights to prepare for the coming Antarctic research season, which gets underway in October.

NSF manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, through which it coordinates all U.S. research and the necessary logistical support on the continent and aboard ships in the Southern Ocean.

 -NSF-

Engineering for Mobility -- Science of the Summer Olympics

Engineering for Mobility

At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, elite athletes with disabilities will rely on strength, speed and skill as they go for the gold in 21 different sporting events. Rory Cooper, a biomechanical engineer at the University of Pittsburgh, demonstrates how engineering can help wheelchair athletes maximize their performance in such diverse sports as wheelchair rugby, basketball and racing.

Credit: NBC Learn and National Science Foundation

A Hilltop in Foggy Bottom – Brother Against Brother & A New Mission

The home of the Old Naval Observatory (1844-1893) and the Navy Medical Department (1894-2012) is where many firsts in science and technology took place.

This is where the science of oceanography was born, where the moons of Mars were discovered, where the underwater path of the first transatlantic cable was plotted. This location played a key role in the Civil War, our first westward expansion, and in the development of military medicine.

In 1902, the Naval Observatory was renamed the Naval Medical School, and later became home to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery until it was closed through the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).

Videos courtesy of the Office of Medical History, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

A Hilltop in Foggy Bottom: Light House In The Sky And Pathfinder Of The Seas

The home of the Old Naval Observatory (1844-1893) and the Navy Medical Department (1894-2012) is where many firsts in science and technology took place.

This is where the science of oceanography was born, where the moons of Mars were discovered, where the underwater path of the first transatlantic cable was plotted. This location played a key role in the Civil War, our first westward expansion, and in the development of military medicine.

In 1902, the Naval Observatory was renamed the Naval Medical School, and later became home to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery until it was closed through the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC).

Videos courtesy of the Office of Medical History, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Targeting Illness Faster, Safer, And More Effectively

In addition to keeping the warfighter safe while deployed in theater, there is a clear need to maintain warfighter health throughout their military service. For example, the Military Infectious Disease Research Program reports that more warfighters are hospitalized each year for infectious diseases than are wounded in combat.

The negative effects of warfighter illness and downtime multiply when extended across the military: numerous medicines must be transported to military treatment facilities around the world, soldiers must be trained to fill new roles, and in some cases operational plans must be modified or even postponed.

A rapid and adaptable platform to treat military-relevant disease may reduce this logistical burden and increase operational readiness. In Vivo Nanoplatforms for Therapeutics (IVN:Tx) seeks revolutionary treatment methods to get sick warfighters back on their feet, fast.

This solicitation calls for development of nanoplatforms that treat a variety of diseases. Such nanoparticle therapeutic platforms could be rapidly modified to treat a broad range of diseases, but more importantly will be based on safe and effective technologies.

While the medical community has been using small-molecule therapeutics to treat diseases for years, traditional drugs are often effective against only one disease, are associated with significant side effects and are very expensive to develop.

“Doctors have been waiting for a flexible platform that could help them treat a variety of problematic diseases,” said Timothy Broderick, physician and DARPA program manager. “DARPA seeks to do just that by advancing revolutionary technologies such as nanoparticles coated with small interfering RNA (siRNA). RNA plays an active role in all biological processes, and by targeting RNA in specific cells we may be able to stop the processes that cause diseases of all types—from contagious, difficult-to-treat bacteria such as MRSA to traumatic brain injury.”

Safety is a key factor to the many potential technical approaches for IVN:Tx. Nanoplatforms must be biocompatible, nontoxic and designed with eventual regulatory approval in mind. The IVN:Tx approach of treating illness inside specific cells may also minimize dosing required for clinical efficacy, limit side effects and adverse immune system response. Similar to today’s medicines, the therapeutic nanoparticles will move throughout the body in a natural, passive manner.

IVN is a technology demonstration and human trials will not be funded. However, proposers are encouraged to submit plans for testing that would result in a clinical protocol prepared for approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA will be engaged with the IVN:Tx team throughout the program lifecycle by reviewing proposals, participating in Proposers’ Day meetings and participating in government review boards.

Information for this post provided by DARPA.

Surgical Robots -- Science Nation

Surgical Robots 

We're stepping into the future of medicine with a look at the surgical robotics being developed at the Johns Hopkins Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology. Here, engineers are designing less invasive surgical techniques and robots that a decade ago may have seemed like science fiction. Many of these techniques are leading to significantly quicker and less painful recoveries while giving surgeons more flexibility than ever before.

Credit: National Science Foundation

Museum Showcases Military Medical History

It’s a lot of the past mixed with much of the present.  But then again, that’s what a museum is all about.  What’s interesting about this one, however, is the fact that it’s all about tracking the health and wellness of our troops throughout the centuries.

From Civil War memorabilia to innovations of modern day, the newly reopened National Museum of Health and Medicine  shows off an impressive collection of 25 million artifacts.  The museum’s mission is to preserve and collect specimens of morbid anatomy and medical technology.  These tools and artifacts will help researchers to understand the care of the soldier by tracking the history of medicine.

There might be no better way to track the progression of medicinal practices than through the history of the military soldier.  From illness to injury, service members experience just about all of it, and researchers are learning new and innovative ways to treat medical issues by using our history as a guide.

Plus they have the bullet that killed Abraham Lincoln.

Video provided by The Pentagon Channel

"Movement Retraining" Can Reduce Knee Pain

Sensors, custom software and real-time feedback help people change their walk and possibly delay, eliminate knee surgery

Aches and pains got you down? The way you walk could be wearing out parts of your body.

"All of a sudden, I developed pain in my knee and it progressively got worse. I didn't want to walk anymore," recalls Lloyd Manson, a retired contractor and developer who has osteoarthritis in his knee. Manson's pain became so severe he was seriously considering knee surgery, but just before he was about to set a date for the operation, he learned about a study at Stanford University. And, Stanford mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky and his team were looking for test subjects.

With support from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Human-Centered Computing Program (HCC), the research, known as Movement Retraining, focuses on alleviating pain by analyzing and possibly changing a person's stride. One of the major problems at the root of knee pain is uneven wear and tear on the knee cartilage, which leads to arthritis. "We're trying to slow the rate at which arthritis progresses, and thereby delay the time that you would need a much more expensive, invasive procedure like surgery," says Cutkosky.

Sounded too good to be true, but Manson decided to give it try. "I didn't know what to think, but I said, 'You know, what the heck.'"

Suzanne Dancer also agreed to participate in the study. "I've had knee pain on and off for a couple of years. I'm not getting younger and it was becoming more and more noticeable."

Suzanne and Lloyd are not alone. "Roughly 50 percent of people as they get older start to show some evidence of osteoarthritis of the knee," notes Cutkosky.

The research team first outfitted test subjects with sensors and then directed them to walk on a treadmill. When Manson took a step, custom software precisely calculated the forces on his joints. That data helped the team determine if a gait change might help reduce his pain.

"We use a biomechanics model and say, 'Aha! If you were, for example, to turn your toes in just a little bit or maybe your knees out, you could reduce the peak loads, the adverse loads on the knee joint,'" explains Cutkosky. The idea is to shift weight away from the more worn-out area to the more cushioned area of the knee cartilage.

So, instead of Dancer walking with one foot slightly pointed out, the researchers suggested that she turn her foot in slightly. "It was a very strange feeling," she says. "You feel like you're walking pigeon-toed, but you're not. What I couldn't argue with was the fact I did not have as much knee pain. Just recently I walked four miles. It took me 60 minutes and I had no knee pain when I was done!"

Researchers recommended a similar fix for Manson. "I had to work at it to retrain myself. It took weeks, but then it just progressively kept getting better and better. The pain is almost nonexistent. It's amazing. It's truly amazing!" says Lloyd.

But, Cutkosky cautions not to try changing your stride on your own. You could do more harm than good. To help test subjects learn their new gaits, Cutkosky and his team developed a biofeedback device for treadmill walking. One misstep and the device vibrates. They're working on a portable version to reinforce the modified gait outside the lab.

"We've seen amazing changes in the lab. People are able to change the way they walk and they have less pain and greater function," says Pete Shull, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering and a key member of Cutkosky's research team.

Movement retraining isn't just for people in pain. Cutkosky says athletes could improve their moves with this biofeedback technique--everything from golf swings to jump shots. "The next step is a wearable, wireless system that measures peoples' movements, provides haptic feedback, and then transmits the results to a cell phone so that people can use haptic movement training anywhere they go, at home or outdoors," he says.

This research was funded by NSF's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) under the NSF's Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE).

Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent

Ann Kellan, Science Nation Producer