Bomb blast troops get extra cover
- From: News Corp Australia Network
- October 15, 2012
IT'S a tiny piece of technology set to become a battlefield lifesaver.
Australian troops in Afghanistan are wearing blast gauges that allow medics to detect and treat otherwise invisible brain injuries.
Broken bones and lacerations are easy to see when a soldier is hit by improvised explosive device (IED), but traumatic brain injury is difficult to diagnose and can be much more lethal.
Enemy bombs have killed 13 of the 38 diggers to fall in Afghanistan and many of the hundreds of wounded were injured by the insidious devices.
More than 200,000 coalition troops have been affected by brain injury during the past decade.
Bomb blasts can put enormous force and pressure on the brain.
About 400 of the gauges are already being worn by diggers in Afghanistan so they can measure the impact of explosions.
Each soldier carries three gauges fitted on their helmet, chest and non-firing shoulder.
The Government will provide 10,000 of the American-made gauges to troops during the next 12 months at a cost of $1 million.
They are weather resistant, weigh just 29 grams and will display a yellow, green or red light to indicate the pressure level from a particular blast.
Each gauge contains a microprocessor that controls everything, including sampling the sensors quickly enough to capture the characteristic abrupt changes in over-pressure and acceleration associated with blasts.
Primary blast injury comes from exposure to the pressurisation wave generated by an explosion. If severe enough, it can cause air-filled organs such as lungs to collapse.
Fluid-filled cavities such as the brain are also highly susceptible to injury.
They are being rolled out by the army's high-tech "Diggerworks" future combat capability team in conjunction with American researchers from the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) who developed the technology.
They have been trialled by US troops and have already collected data from about 250 bomb blasts in Afghanistan.
Defence Science Minister Warren Snowdon said the gauges would help medics to treat injured soldiers by detecting and capturing data that would guide treatment.
"The trial will enable medics to access data to immediately assess the effects of blast pressure and acceleration from an IED or other explosion on a soldier," Mr Snowdon said.
Defence Personnel Minister Jason Clare said everyone was familiar with brain injuries sustained by footballers and boxers from big hits.
"Being hit by the blast of a bomb is much worse," Mr Clare said.
The Government has committed more than $1 billion in extra protective equipment for troops in Afghanistan ranging from new combat body armour to anti-rocket radars.
Further information on the blast gauge and a video at www.darpa.mil.