Photo By T. T. Parish | Hospital Corpsman Xander Jacobson, right, operates a near infrared Traumatic Brain...... read more read more
Team members with the Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office joined dozens of U.S. Navy corpsmen and medical officers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, this week as part of an end-user touchpoint here, Jan. 14, 2026.
The event was designed to collect feedback from clinical and frontline U.S. Navy medical providers to shape the development of traumatic brain injury detection devices as part of OPMED’s TBI Field Assessment Program. Traumatic brain injuries, caused by exposure to concussive events like roadside bombs and indirect fire, are a significant threat to frontline service members. There have been more than 505,000 traumatic brain injuries reported within the Department of War since 2000, ranging from mild to severe. Many TBIs are not accompanied by exterior signs of injury yet can have both short and long-term health effects. In TBI cases, identifying internal injuries, like intercranial hemorrhage or other non-visible brain damage, is a vital first step to ensuring injured personnel receive proper treatment across the continuum of care.
During the touchpoint, corpsmen and medical officers from across Marine Corps and Navy commands in the Eastern North Carolina region provided feedback on brain trauma assessment devices currently under development at OPMED. The TBI FAP program is managed by brain health experts belonging to OPMED’s Warfighter Readiness, Performance, and Brain Health Project Management Office and their partners with the North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance.
The event, hosted at the Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, was designed to gather feedback on TBI assessment technology prototypes in development for use in a far-forward, operational environment. Feedback from prospective end users is a vital step in the early development of any program, according to Damien Hoffman, a product manager with WRPBH.
“Collaborating with stakeholders across the military services and from key organizations in a systematic, routine way is imperative to our team’s success,” said Hoffman. “These touchpoints allow us to gather an array of feedback from end users with varying degrees of experience and expertise, an invaluable resource as we develop products for the Warfighter.”
The U.S. Navy provides medical care and services for the Marine Corps. During the touchpoint, volunteer corpsmen and medical officers participated in prototype device demonstrations and focus groups. The event was designed to capture Service-unique needs and assess potential integration and utilization of brain trauma assessment devicesin the prehospital setting, particularly at Role 1 (battalion aid station) and Role 2 (brigade level) care facilities. Participants provided feedback about the devices’ ease of use, design features, and overall fitness for use in austere, remote environments.
“Our process is a continuum, with flexibility to evolve alongside emerging threats and meet the needs of frontline Warfighters, combatant commands, and joint staff,” Hoffman added. “Our goal is to rapidly develop a TBI assessment capability at the speed of relevance, and these touchpoints are imperative to achieving that goal.”
The WRPBH TBI assessment programs are designed to develop devices that are rugged, deployable, cost-effective, and user-friendly in the hands of medical providers as close to the point of injury as possible. TBI field assessment tools are designed to give frontline providers accurate information faster to help shape treatment decisions before, during, and after medevac post-injury, according to U.S. Army Capt. Matthew D'Alessandro, an assistant product manager and research psychologist with WRPBH.
“With the evolving nature of conflict, it is our mission to keep pace technologically to enable Warfighter lethality as they prepare for future operations in places like the Indo-Pacific,” said D'Alessandro. “What that means in principle for our team is that we use a multi-avenue approach to finding solutions that fill current and future capability gaps for brain health treatment at and near the front lines.
“With TBI FAP, we have identified a capability gap – in this case, the lack of a near instantaneous brain injury assessment capability – and are working to identify candidate technologies that are commercially available or nearing wide availability. This strategic approach prepares us to meet the needs of combatant commands more rapidly than previous development models.”
During future conflicts, with logistics and evacuation capabilities limited by distance and austerity found in regions like the Arctic and Indo-Pacific, the “Golden Hour” may not be a feasible amount of time to move injured and wounded to higher care facilities. To answer the TBI treatment challenges presented by possible future conflicts in remote locations, the OPMED team works to develop new capabilities and improve tested treatments to meet the needs of tomorrow’s Warfighters, said D'Alessandro.
“Assessing the presence of brain traumas to indicate their severity without needing to move a patient to a higher care facility gives commanders on the ground more options to mitigate the challenges of distance and time,” he said. “Future conflicts will present novel challenges for combatant commanders and troops on the ground, and programs like TBI FAP will help mitigate those challenges to help keep our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines healthy and in the fight.”
About the Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office
The OPMED PMO, part of the Defense Health Agency, is the Department of War’s leading force in medical development and acquisition, focused on enhancing Warfighter lethality and readiness. OPMED’s project management teams develop and deliver next-generation, world-class medical capabilities that empower combatant commanders in Large-Scale Combat Operations, particularly within austere environments. For more information, visit https://dha.mil/opmed.
| Date Taken: | 01.14.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2026 15:27 |
| Story ID: | 556220 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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