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Army researchers are studying the physiological effects
of blast pressure on the brain to discover technology
solutions to protect Soldiers.
Scientists at the Army
Research Laboratory, in partnership with the DOD Blast
Injury Research Program Coordinating Office, U.S. Army
Medical Research and Materiel Command, are developing
nanomaterials to help understand the mechanism of brain
injuries when Soldiers are exposed to blast conditions.
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December 27, 2016 - Biologist Rebecca Jimenez infuses gel samples
with fluorescent properties in order to discover technology
solutions to protect Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by David McNally,
Army Research Laboratory)
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They have developed a gel substance with fluorescent properties
that mimics the texture and mass of the human brain. Their goal is
to show the scale of damage to the brain under the pressure
conditions that Soldiers encounter in combat or training.
"We
develop materials solutions that enable us to understand the
mechanisms of damage at the cellular level," said Dr. Shashi P.
Karna, ARL nanofunctional materials senior research scientist. "What
are the mechanisms by which the blast pressure waves travel to the
brain?"
The laboratory is also creating materials that will
enable the researchers to see details that have never been recorded.
Using nanotechnology, scientists will see what happens to the brain
during an explosion -- at the cellular level.
"We have
nanomaterials that are highly robust so that in real time, when the
blast occurs, it will be possible to image the effects like an MRI,
but with fluorescence," Karna said. "Colors will show the motion of
the cells."
Researcher Nile Bunce said she and fellow
researcher Rebecca Jimenez found that infusing the gel samples with
fluorescent properties presented a complex technical challenge.
"It was more a trial and error," Bunce said. "We got a nice
dispersion of sample into our gels, and that's what we've been going
with so far."
"Since our nanoclusters are pressure sensitive, when we apply
pressure the fluorescence intensity will either increase or decrease
depending on an increase or decrease in pressure," Jimenez said.
Jimenez said they use ultraviolet light to illuminate the
fluorescent materials.
"Depending on the type of metal that
we use and the concentration, it can fluoresce anywhere on the
visible wavelength spectrum," she said. "It can be from blue all the
way to red."
To derive useful information about the effects
of blast pressure on the brain from these colors, the team plans to
develop a pressure scale, Bunce said.
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December 27, 2016 - Researcher Nile Bunce uses ultraviolet light to
illuminate fluorescent materials that may help scientists to
understand the effects of blast pressure on the human brain. (U.S. Army photo by
David McNally, Army Research Laboratory)
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"We put the nanoclusters under different pressures," she said.
"Based on how it fluoresces, under each certain pressure, we'll make
a graph and, from that, we can correlate it to how it will fluoresce
in a brain situation."
Over the past two years, the
laboratory has built a partnership with the Japanese Ministry of
Defense, which is working on the same problem. On Dec. 19, Japanese
medical researchers visited Maryland for an update.
"The Japanese are addressing this through a medical technique
... to look at the oxygen level, for example, in the tissue," Karna
said. "They also look at the cortical depressant. When the blast
waves hit the brain, there is fluctuation in the blood circulation
level. So they look at these physiological systems to assess what is
affected by the blast."
Karna said the Japanese team plans to
test the Army's samples with a laser-induced shockwave and share the
results of the experiment.
"This is extremely important for
us," Karna said of the ongoing research. "The Army Research
Laboratory provides the technology that enables the Soldier to
function on the battlefield. It provides the best lethality and the
best protection."
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The U.S. Army
Research Laboratory is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development
and Engineering Command, which has the mission to provide innovative
research, development and engineering to produce capabilities that
provide decisive overmatch to the Army against the complexities of
the current and future operating environments in support of the
joint warfighter and the nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate
command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
By David McNally, Army Research Laboratory
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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