Innovative Program Screens Soldiers for Brain Injury

Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) and the Maine Army National Guard have partnered to launch a two-tiered Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Program, involving both state-of-the-art screening and a system of integrated care to meet the needs of returning soldiers.

The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have heightened interest in mTBI. Roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are the signature weapon in these conflicts and, as a result, many service members are experiencing concussive brain injuries. Accurate identification of these injuries is important for appropriate treatment.

A key feature of the program centers on the pre- and post-deployment screening for mTBI, accomplished through ImPACTTM, a computer program that can be administered by non-clinical personnel with minimal training. In November 2007, all Maine National Guard troops began the process of receiving ImPACTTM screening before and after deployment to war zones.

The strategic collaboration among DMS, the Maine Army National Guard, ImPACT Applications Inc., and the Maine Brain Injury Partnership Project will work toward an integrated system of care for Maine service members. The program is directed by Elizabeth Pearson, senior research associate at the Hood Center for Children and Families at DMS. “This collaborative project will help maximize available resources, including an existing and validated screening program, so that all of our service members have the highest rate of recovery from mild traumatic brain injury,” she says.

“Substantial advances in battlefield armor and medical treatment mean that more people are surviving injuries that would have been far more serious in previous conflicts,” says Lt. Colonel Patrick Tangney, M.D., the Maine Army National Guard state surgeon. “The number of U.S. soldiers sustaining some sort of brain injury in combat is high, but not always easily detected. Maine is the first in the nation to use this model of screening to ensure that our returning soldiers are getting the care they need, and the right care, every time.”

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