The US Army and AnthroTronix have developed an app that provides data to help diagnose and measure brain injuries in soldiers.
The “DANA” includes 5, 20, and 45 minute neurocognitive tests and psychological survey questions. The data will help doctors diagnose traumatic brain injury and identify depression, post-traumatic stress, and other neurocognitive issues. The game-like test includes exercises that score a soldier’s speed and accuracy. A (potentially in-theater) doctor analyzes the post-injury test, and compares it to pre-deployment baseline tests.
The FDA approved tool was reliable in when studied in harsh combat environments. Johns Hopkins researchers found its results correlated highly with the mini-mental state examination. It will supplement, not replace, the current hand written Military Acute Concussion Evaluation as an in-theater assessment, and the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric used for a pre-deployment baselines.