Photo By Paul Lagasse | A Service Member demonstrates a handheld device for electrically stimulating the vagus...... read more read more
FORT DETRICK, Md. – Military aviators are trained to operate in high pressure scenarios where they must constantly make split-second decisions in response to hazards such as enemy fire, bad weather, and unfamiliar terrain. They are required to maintain a high level of situational awareness throughout the entire mission, regardless of how long it is or what time of day – or night – it occurs. These requirements place enormous physical and mental demands on the aviator. Even the most fit person is at risk of experiencing fatigue, cognitive overload, and distraction under such conditions – when even a momentary lapse of vigilance could result in the failure of the mission, the loss of the aircraft, and even death.
That’s why researchers at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory’s Warfighter Performance Group have undertaken a research program called operator state monitoring to develop ways of reliably monitoring aviators’ cognitive functions in order to predict and mitigate those deficits – cutting-edge medical modernization that will improve Warfighter survivability and readiness.
“The goal of OSM is to passively and objectively measure physiological data and use it to predict changes that would result in a performance decrement,” says Dr. Amanda Kelley, the group’s medical factors team lead. “The information could be used to alert the pilot that their performance is at risk of degrading, or to enable adaptive automation to offload some tasks from the pilot.”
To accomplish those objectives, Kelley’s team is conducting research into a wide range of potential physiological and psychological markers. They are evaluating how differences in a person’s sleep-wake cycle affect mission performance; how changes in brain activity, eye movement, respiration, and heart rate indicate the onset of fatigue; how noninvasive brain stimulation and pharmaceuticals affect attention and decision-making ability; and how fatigue degrades physiological response times. The insights gained from this research could lead to a slew of innovative applications such as biometric sensors embedded in flight gear, cockpit-mounted cameras, improved visual displays and audio feeds, tactile cueing, and adaptive automation – to name just a few.
Part of the Defense Health Agency Research & Development-Medical Research and Development Command, USAARL has unique capabilities – experienced research pilots, psychologists who specialize in human factors, vision and sensory scientists, high fidelity flight simulators, and operator of the Army’s only flying aeromedical research laboratory – that make it an ideal partner with industry, DOD, and academic laboratories to develop and research OSM for applications in test and evaluation, training, and operational environments.
“We are uniquely positioned at Fort Rucker to have access to aircrew at all stages of their careers and at different experience levels,” says Kelley. “That is important when you're developing OSM systems because their individual differences impact their perceptions, performance, and capabilities, and that helps us gather as broad a data set to work with as possible.”
The advanced monitoring and augmentation capabilities developed through the OSM program will become even more critical to mission success as the Army begins to field the next generation of aircraft, specifically the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft currently being developed through the Future Vertical Lift program. These aircraft will be capable of high speeds and long range, and will feature advanced avionics, extensive automation, and the ability to operate air-launched payloads and equipment – all of which will increase the cognitive burden placed on operators.
As part of their research into operator performance in fatigued states, Kelley’s team also evaluates commercially available products to determine their potential applicability to military scenarios. One recent evaluation, for example, looked at a handheld device designed to deliver mild electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain down along the neck. Studies have shown that stimulating the vagus nerve for a few minutes at a time can reduce fatigue and improve alertness and focus for up to several hours. If shown to be effective for military applications, such a device could potentially complement the other augmentation methods being explored by USAARL.
“We were already in the process of conducting a simulator study to evaluate another method of electrical stimulation when we became aware of the vagus nerve stimulation device, so we acquired one and incorporated it into the study to compare the two methods,” says Dr. Katie Feltman, a research psychologist on Kelley’s team. “We had the pilots fly through several complex simulated scenarios that we routinely use to test tactical flying skills, such as flying at high speeds, at low altitudes, and around obstacles, both with and without prior stimulation. Interestingly, we found that on one task, a simple test of reaction time, higher levels of stimulation actually slightly worsened their performance, while a lower level – one that we thought wasn't even providing any stimulation at all – resulted in faster reaction times on that task.”
Feltman says that the team will further investigate this surprising result – which complements research being conducted at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research into the use of electrical stimulation to reduce the effects of sleep deprivation – in future research. It’s a good example of how USAARL’s ability to pivot quickly to capitalize on them, can pay dividends for the Warfighter.
Several USAARL researchers involved in the OSM project attended the 2025 Military Health System Research Symposium in Kissimmee, Florida Aug. 4-7, where they presented posters and participated in panel discussions on aspects of their work, including techniques for reliable data interpretation, requirements for wearable medical devices in operational environments, and applying physiological measures to the evaluation of crash dynamics in simulated flight. They were among over 200 DHA R&D-MRDC experts in military infectious diseases, combat casualty care, military operational medicine, chemical biological defense, and clinical and rehabilitative medicine who attended the annual event, the DOD's premier medical science research and development meeting. To see photos of DHA R&D-MRDC’s participation in this year’s MHSRS, visit the event’s Flickr album.
Kelley believes that the OSM research being conducted at USAARL has the potential for broader applications beyond military aviation, including unmanned aerial vehicle operators. Other professions where alertness is crucial for safety – such as truck drivers, first responders, and air traffic controllers – could someday benefit from the work being done today to improve Warfighter readiness and lethality.
“There's a lot to be said for trying these systems out with aircrew and aviators first, because their medical standards are the highest that we have,” says Kelley. “So, if we see positive results with them, then we can be confident that we will see them with other groups too. When we think of where this program or this type of technology could be applied, the number of potential applications is endless.”
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2025 14:32 |
| Story ID: | 545428 |
| Location: | FORT DETRICK, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, USAARL Researchers Help Aviators Fight Fatigue, by Paul Lagasse, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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