ARA Receives Patents for Processing of Body-mounted Blast Overpressure Sensor Data
July 17 2024 - 8:00AM
Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA) is pleased to announce it
has received two patents related to body-mounted blast sensor data
analysis. The patents address concerns regarding air blast effects
on service members and their impact on brain health.
Tools based on the
patents could save time and accelerate research of blast effects on
the brain as monitoring of blast exposure in combat and training
expands with militaries and law enforcement agencies across the
world. Leveraging the patented technology, ARA researchers
developed FAST-CT, software that promotes quality control and
improves service member brain health data as it relates to blast
effects. The patents and related software standardize processing of
blast overpressure data from body-mounted sensors, allowing
one-to-one comparisons across units for future blast exposure
studies.
“These patents and the
associated software developed by ARA are critical to ensuring
consistent, high-quality data from body-mounted blast sensors,”
said Principal Engineer Suthee Wiri, who leads blast research at
ARA. “This will allow researchers to conduct longitudinal studies
to connect blast exposure with brain health and adverse
outcomes.”
FAST-CT provides accurate
blast overpressure data to help evaluate blast incidents and their
effects on service member brain health using physics-based
algorithms to calculate incident blast metrics from blast events.
This data can then be output directly to service member’s medical
records for future reference, or to a compatible research
database.
“FAST-CT is an
easy-to-use software tool that quickly and accurately processes
body-mounted blast sensor data,” said Principal Engineer Christina
Wagner. “Currently, we have implemented FAST-CT in MS Windows
software, but it can be deployed on other platforms as
needed.”
“ARA is dedicated to
bringing together multidisciplinary teams to advance our
understanding of blast injuries and brain health,” Wiri said. “We
continue to invest in research, upgrades, and field testing to
improve our leading-edge software to collect and analyze
body-mounted blast overpressure sensor data."
ARA has long been at the
forefront of research into blast effects on the brain, serving as a
key partner the medical and military communities look to for
innovative health solutions and research into personal protection
and traumatic brain injuries. Learn more at www.ara.com.
THE PATENTS
US Patent
11,543,316B: Identifying false positive data within a set of
blast exposure data was awarded in January 2023. The patent
outlines a method to identify and remove false positives from blast
sensor data. High-quality data is vital when data is placed in a
service member’s medical records. This patented technology promotes
improved quality control of the data. ARA’s False Positive Filter
(FPF) software automatically identifies false positive data, saving
time and reducing the manpower needed to process data.
Historically, false positive identification was done manually by an
expert user, which is not feasible when large amounts of data must
be processed. US Patent 12,007,295 B3: Blast
exposure assessment system was awarded June 2024. The patent
outlines a method to analyze blast exposure data. Two key features
include: 1) standardized blast metrics and 2) identifying,
flagging, and removing spurious data (false positives). Many
aspects of this patent are implemented in ARA’s FAST-CT software,
created by a multidisciplinary team leveraging expertise in blast
physics, signal processing, software development, and algorithm
development.
About
ARA
Applied Research
Associates, Inc. (ARA) was founded in 1979, in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, to offer science and engineering research to solve problems
of national importance. ARA delivers leading-edge products and
innovative solutions for national defense, energy, homeland
security, aerospace, healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing.
With over 2,000 employee-owners at locations in the U.S. and
Canada, ARA offers a broad range of technical expertise in defense
technologies, civil engineering, computer software and simulation,
systems analysis, biomedical engineering, environmental
technologies, and blast testing and measurement.
Applied Research Associates, Inc.
marketinggroup@ara.com