Wearable, Low Power Ballistic Impact Detection System

It is well known that quick medical response is crucial to effective treatment of trauma victims. A system that could alert medical personnel to ballistic impacts experienced by warfighters would greatly facilitate their treatment. Quantum Applied Science & Research, Inc. (QUASAR) proposes to build upon existing work done at Walter Reed Army Institute of Medicine (WRAIR) on ballistic impact detection with piezoelectric sensors to produce a Digital Wound Detection (DWD) system for integration into existing warfighter platforms. This system will feature sophisticated algorithms to provide information about the event such as discrimination between blast and impact, and determination whether bones are broken or exit wounds occurred. The system will be optimized for small size and low power consumption, and offer the flexibility to allow it to be integrated with future warfighter platforms. In Phase I, QUASAR would work with signal processing experts Pacific Development to define a system concept, develop algorithms for discrimination of impact events, establish hardware needs, assemble a system architecture and construct a prototype device. Phase II would consist of optimization of the system for size, power, output, and other parameters to be defined in consultation with the sponsor in order to best meet the military's needs.