Field-Practical Automated Battery for Assessing and Monitoring Cognitive Readiness

As the personnel demands of a more complex Soldier System increase due to changing operational requirements and advances in technology, measurement and evaluation of performance within these systems becomes vital to ensure cost-effective, combat-effectivefunction of the system (de Pontbriand et al., 2001). The proposed research initially aims to evaluate current cognitive assessment tools, identify theoretical and practical frameworks, and submit each to a set of criteria for inclusion in Phase IIresearch. Then, we will develop, test, and validate a battery of cognitive/visual/physiological tests to assess cognitive readiness in a variety or applications. To better assess a war-fighter's cognitive readiness, as well as the implementation of afield-practical automated tool, we will coordinate Phase II efforts with key cognitive researchers within the DoD and other federal (NASA, FAA, NIOSH, NHTSA) subject matter experts. We will conduct experimental studies using both civilian and militarypersonnel resulting in the development of a field-ready assessment device which will a) require no equipment addition for soldier, b) utilize computerized off the shelf (COTS) software compatibility, c) employ low power programming, d) employ doseequivalency scoring algorithms e) assess dynamic vision prior to cognitive readiness. A computerized, self-administering performance readiness measurement system which provides stable, real time clinical reports over repeated measures would have many uses as a human