Tag Archives: Navy

Pentagon Started Tracking Blast Injuries Then Ran Out of People

The Department of Defense launched brain-health monitoring for troops exposed to weapons blasts. However, a federal watchdog report released August 18, 2026 found that the DoD lacks the staff, technology, and funding to fully deliver on it.

Government Accountability Office building at 441 G Street NW with American flags

The DoD is highly aware, and the US Government Accountability Office report GAO-26-107829 warns, that firing certain weapons exposes service members to blast overpressure waves, which “may cause problems such as headaches, memory loss, or traumatic brain injury.” As with similar brain injuries, these waves can then travel through the skull and cause micro-injuries in the brain. (In fiscal 2025, 198,161 recruits completed baseline cognitive assessments, and 86% of high-risk personnel were screened, though the Navy lagged at only 59%.) Additionally, the GAO recognizes that a shortage of industrial hygienists remains the “primary barrier” to tracking exposures.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Keith Bass agreed with both GAO recommendations, noting DoD “estimates it will complete the actions for both recommendations by December 2026.”

Phantom Brain Emerges from NRL/VCU Collaboration

“The word ‘phantom’ may conjure up scary ideas, like ghosts, delusions or fake bank accounts… [but] medical imaging phantoms are objects used as stand-ins for human tissues,” according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the U.S. Department of Commerce. “Phantoms offer… comprehensive assessments and iterative optimization of imaging modalities… enabling improvements in their chances of success before human studies,” reported the NIH in May 2024.

Announced December 8, 2025, scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C. and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond have developed the first anatomically accurate rat brain phantom capable of measuring traumatic brain injury impacts in real time. This breakthrough emerged from a multi-year partnership between NRL physicist Dr. Margo Staruch and VCU professor Dr. Ravi Hadimani.

The phantom uses a custom gel-like material that mimics real brain tissue’s consistency.  Working like a tiny power generator activated by pressure, an embedded sensor converts physical impacts into measurable electrical signals. It replicates the brain’s distinct layers: skull, cerebrospinal fluid (the protective liquid cushioning the brain), gray matter, and white matter.

“That information can directly inform the design of improved helmets and protective gear, leading to better protection for warfighters and will also contribute to better diagnostic and treatment pathways for TBI,” said Staruch.