By Debbie Gregory.

The Army has awarded a $10 million contract for the development of a device that can quickly diagnose a brain injury and determine how severe it is.

Neural Analytics will partner with the DoD to develop its Lucid System within the next 18 months to measure and monitor physiological parameters relevant to moderate-severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  The portable device will be used on the battlefield to assess combat-related traumatic brain injury at the point of injury.

“We are honored to continue our partnership with the U.S. Army to further advance point of care injury management of brain health,” said Leo Petrossian, chief executive officer of Neural Analytics.

The system is expected to operate as a single, portable unit with minimal required training and maintenance, so that any troop member could use the device with about a half hour of training.

The goal is to have the software do an assessment of a person’s brain condition and tell the user how severe it is so they can secure the appropriate treatment. Brain injury can be hard to diagnose immediately, and it’s best to get treatment sooner rather than later.

Since 2000, more than 370,000 service members have had a first-time diagnosis of TBI, according to data from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

According to a report by  advocacy group  Veterans Against Alzheimer’s, those who serve have a greater risk than civilians of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and TBI may be one of the factors that significantly increases the risk.

The estimated completion date for the work is March 2019.

“We believe our technology will be the first of its kind targeted for a military environment,” said Petrossian. “This work will also significantly impact civilian versions of the technology allowing for further advancement of our Lucid System in the pre-hospital or EMS setting.”

Following completion of the point of injury brain health assessment device, Neural Analytics plans to continue to supply the system to the DoD and commercialize the technology into its civilian brain health platforms.

The contract was awarded by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.