APTIMA INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N191-015

Description

Military aircrew members have been experiencing back pain for decades, yet the problem persists today. Managing and mitigating long-term health risks of Naval aircrews is problematic when insufficient data exist to properly diagnose, treat, and prevent injuries. Aptima’s Advanced Technologies for Long-Term Aircrew Stamina (ATLAS) solution will be developed to proactively manage musculoskeletal risks, reduce or mitigate pain, prevent injury, and improve aircrew endurance and performance. ATLAS includes three key features: (1) a novel musculoskeletal spine sensor to collect musculoskeletal state data along the full spine, (2) a functional state estimation engine that allows modeling and classification of musculoskeletal function to facilitate diagnosis, and (3) an advanced decision support tool leveraging partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDP) that can generate adaptive treatment recommendations among a range of physical therapies/exercises and behavioral modifications. Data obtained from the extended sensor will be analyzed by a functional state estimation engine used to develop spine classification models that differentiate musculoskeletal responses to environmental conditions. The classification models will provide insights into the dynamic nature of musculoskeletal states, which will allow longitudinal and predictive analyses necessary for treatments prior to the onset of acute pain and chronic injury.