MTEC research is focused on technologies that can prevent injuries and accelerate the development of revolutionary medical solutions.

The Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium is a 501(c)(3) biomedical technology consortium that is internationally-dispersed, collaborating with multiple government agencies under a 10-year renewable Other Transaction Agreement with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. The consortium focuses on the development of medical solutions that protect, treat, and optimize the health and performance of U.S. military personnel and civilians.

Military Infectious Diseases

Prevent, predict, and treat infectious disease threats to eliminate their impacts on operational readiness and performance.

Prevent, predict, and treat infectious disease threats to eliminate their impacts on operational readiness and performance.

This technology area focuses on vaccines, drugs, vector detection assays, and novel therapeutics to treat multidrug-resistant organisms in combat wound infections, as well as vector control measures for insect vectors that transmit naturally occurring endemic diseases with demonstrated or potential capability to decrease military operational effectiveness. Research and development efforts may focus on malaria, dengue, bacterial diarrhea, multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi, Rickettsial diseases, and emerging infectious diseases (e.g., chikungunya virus, Zika virus) not found on the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) biothreat list.

AREAS OF INTEREST:

  • Rapid diagnostics and detection devices
  • Diagnostics for invasive fungal infections
  • Therapies to prevent and treat combat wound infections
  • Control of wound progression
  • Pathogen agnostic countermeasures to prevent and treat sepsis caused by wound infections
  • Treatment and prevention of biofilm formation
  • Prophylactic for endemic diarrheal diseases
  • Broad spectrum antivirals to prevent and treat endemic and emerging infectious diseases
  • Broadly protective vaccine platforms for emerging infectious diseases
  • Synthetic biology

Combat Casualty Care

Reduce mortality and morbidity associated with combat-related trauma – from the battlefield to U.S. hospitals.

This technology area provides integrated capabilities for current and future operations to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with major combat-related trauma across the spectrum of combat casualty care, including point of injury and pre- or out-of-hospital care, the spectrum of en-route care, and facilities-based treatment. Research and development may include efforts to develop and evaluate drugs, biologics, and/or devices for early intervention in life-threatening battle injuries and prolonged field care, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury, hemorrhage control, resuscitation, orthopedic and maxillofacial trauma repair strategies, and capabilities for remote triage, monitoring, and management of casualties.

AREAS OF INTEREST:

  • Prolonged field care
  • Technologies or techniques for surgical support in far forward and austere settings
  • Therapeutics for ischemia reperfusion injury
  • Control/sustainment of critical organ systems
  • Clinical practice modifications for extreme cold weather environments
  • Control of hemorrhage and resuscitation
  • Control of wound progression
  • Enabling capabilities to increase patient movement capacity
  • Blood and blood products
  • Brain trauma
  • Cognition-sparing, long-duration pain control
  • Automated and portable ultrasound technology
  • Burn care and burn resuscitation

Medical Simulation and Information Sciences

Transition more capable healthcare information and medical simulation technologies into military healthcare relevant applications.

This technology area focuses on the exploration of the implications of models and technology for medical education and for the provision, management, and support of health services in the military. Research and development efforts may include: 1) Improving military medical training through medical modeling, simulation, educational gaming, assessment systems, interoperable training platforms, and objective training metrics; 2) Developing, researching, and/or improving technologies and informatics that support Theater and Operational Medicine; and 3) Focusing on the Multi-Domain Battle, an operational environment requiring more self-sufficiency.

AREAS OF INTEREST:

  • Trainings that optimize practice and effectiveness (i.e., brain focused and learning retention)
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) to support medical resupply in theater
  • Battlefield medical automation
  • Autonomous care and AI at the point-of-injury in austere environments
  • Remote tele-monitoring
  • Health informatics
  • Next generation casualty management
  • Human-machine integration
  • Interoperable haptic platforms to support virtual and augmented education tools
  • Interoperable automatic systems

Military Operational Medicine

Maximize health, readiness, and performance by countering stressors and preventing physical and psychological injuries during training and operations.

This technology area aims to develop effective countermeasures against stressors and to maximize health, readiness, and performance. Research and development efforts may include: (1) Environmental Health and Protection (performance optimization and biomarker validation during heat/cold/altitude exposures); (2) Injury Prevention and Reduction (countermeasures against aviation stressors; blast, blunt trauma, and accelerative injury prevention strategies; neurosensory injury protection; injury return-to-duty standards and strategies; and physiological mechanisms of musculoskeletal injury); (3) Physiological Health and Performance (performance and recovery nutrition, weight balance optimization, cognitive health and performance sustainment in the face of operational challenges, restorative sleep, and establishment of a physiological basis for resilience to operational and environmental stressors); and (4) Psychological Health and Resilience (post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD], suicide prevention, resilience, substance abuse prevention, and violence prevention within the military).

AREAS OF INTEREST:

  • Interventions to treat adjustment disorders
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Warfighter and family psychological health and resilience to stressors
  • Musculoskeletal injury – prevent, diagnose, and return-to-readiness
  • Sensory system function after combat threats
  • Strategies to improve mitochondrial health
  • Sustain warfighter performance in Arctic and other extreme environments
  • Alertness and cognitive health
  • Maximizing human potential
  • Performance optimization and enhancement
  • Restoration nutrition
  • Medical criteria and brain-injury thresholds for informing development of next generation PPE
  • Blast exposure induced brain injury models

Clinical and Rehabilitative Medicine

Reconstruction, rehabilitation, and definitive care for injured Warfighters to improve the standard of care and outcomes, return Service members to full form and function, and ultimately restore the Warfighter to duty and improve his or her quality of life.

This technology area focuses on the innovations required to reset our wounded Service members, both in terms of duty performance and quality of life. Innovations are expected to improve restorative treatments and rehabilitative care to maximize function for return to duty (RTD) or civilian life. Medical technologies (drugs, biologics, and devices) and treatment/rehabilitation strategies (methods, guidelines, standards, and information) that will significantly improve the medical care our wounded Service members receive within the DoD healthcare system are of particular interest. Research and development efforts may include technologies that address neuromusculoskeletal injury (including limb trauma and amputation), sensory systems impairment (including hearing, balance, tinnitus, and vision), acute and chronic pain, and regenerative medicine.

Areas of Interest:

  • Neuromusculoskeletal Injury Rehabilitation
  • Pain Management
  • Regenerative Medicine
  • Sensory Systems Traumatic Injury (including vision, hearing, and balance)

Chemical and Biological Threat Reduction

Providing science, technology, and capability developments that maintain the U.S. military’s technological superiority in countering chemical and biological threats, mitigating the risks of technical surprise, and responding to the warfighters’ urgent technical requirements.

This technology focus area aims to prevent, reduce, and counter chemical and biological threats by delivering innovative solutions that meet current mission requirements in a timely manner, anticipating and preparing for emerging and future threats with a balance of fundamental and applied research. Research and development areas may include: 1) Development and delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter across the threat spectrum; 2) Providing strategic and operational support through subject matter expertise, technical reach back, tailored analysis, and exercise support; and 3) support through plans, concepts, exercises, and materiel solutions that address CBRN operational and strategic risks.

AREAS OF INTEREST:

  • Understanding environmental threats and warfighter vulnerabilities
  • Control, defeat, disable, and disposal of CBRN threats
  • Safeguarding warfighters from CBRN threats and managing consequences of exposure
  • Testing, assessing, and enabling