Medical Device To Improve Warfighter Readiness

We propose a non-invasive, non-surgical Nasal Air-Flow device to improve warfighter breathing and health, increase readiness and resiliency, and reduce costs to the Department of Defense by eliminating surgical procedures. Benefits from the use of this device was first identified by MAJ (Dr.) Mostafa M. Ahmed, Chief, Head and Neck Surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Active Duty Servicemembers diagnosed with nasal obstruction causing oxygen deprivation and other breathing disorders are not deployable. If successfully treated they may return to active duty. Recent studies show traditional surgery treatment has risks, many surgeries are not successful, and surgeries may be unnecessary if there is a non-surgical alternative (Gradwell, et al., Ernstingĺs Aviation and Space Medicine, 5th Edition, CRC Press, 2016, page 256). This proposal focuses on novel adaptation of a commercial product allowing a non-surgical treatment option to resolve nasal problems. Non-surgical treatment reduces overall costs to the DoD by an estimated $100 Million annually, improving sustainability. Eliminating unnecessary surgery returns Servicemembers to deployable status faster, and gives better medical outcomes. In addition, it reduces access to care issues as the DoD continues to reshape operations at Military Medical Treatment Facilities (MTFs) under the National Defense Authorization Acts of 2017 and 2021, requiring the DoD to reduce military medical end strength (Report to Congressional Armed Services Committee, Section 719 of the NDAA of FY2020, August 2021, page 1). Technology developed under this effort will contribute to solving mission needs related to Servicemember readiness, fitness for duty and deployment, sustainment of a ready medical force, and therefore future mission need fulfillment.