Wearable Electrophysiologic Sensor Suite for Detection of Neurotoxic Effects

The human nervous system responds to stressors such as neurotoxic effects, cognitive overload, or sleep deprivation with measurable physiologic responses. These responses offer the possibility of forewarning of an impending change in the individual’s cognitive performance to avoid a loss of tactical effectiveness, a capability that the DoD currently lacks. The focus of this program is development of real time algorithms and gauges that process objective physiologic measures to predict an impending loss of cognitive performance for a particular individual. This requires a correction for individual variations and variability due to factors such as food intake and diurnal effects. To collect sufficient experimental data we will induce cognitive degradation by the relatively easy routes of cognitive overload and neurotoxin exposure (alcohol). Cognitive performance will be evaluated by the video game Ghost Recon. More involved stressors such as uncompensated stress and fatigue will be tested in Phase III. These algorithms will be combined with QUASAR’s innovative non-contacting biosensors embedded in standard headgear such as a cap or visor, to provide a fully wearable, lightweight, sensor suite. This final system will possibly be the first true proof of concept prototype for practical detection of impending cognitive degradation in real time.