How often have military service members been shuffled from one office to another—one organization to the next—before all of their records are pulled together and coordination of treatments or benefits can begin? The answer is too often.

But here is the good news: The U.S. Defense Department and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have launched an effort to combine their two electronic health record systems into one. Known as the integrated Electronic Health Record, or iEHR, it aims to ensure that health care records will follow troops for their rest of their lives, beginning from the day they swear in to serve their country. The move will improve medical care for all military community members, including those wounded in combat or trying to process a VA claim.

According to News Editor Rita Boland in her article, “Two Government Organizations, One Health Information System,” in this issue of SIGNAL Magazine, the iEHR program is not merely a clearinghouse that stores all information, but rather, a continually evolving network that will use the newest technologies developed in order to provide the best care to U.S. troops.

Utilizing the latest and most useful technical tools means that leaders have not identified an end date for this project. Work began on the new system this past summer, but it’s a continuing process, through which capabilities will be added when they become available.

Roger Baker, VA assistant secretary for information and technology and chief information officer, explains that:

In an ideal world, [users] will wake up one day and find out that we have snuck it in on them. All of a sudden it’s become a single electronic health record system, and they never really notice that we did it.

The VA and Defense Department have agreed to use common data standards, and developers began by putting into place the enterprise service bus, which Beth McGrath, deputy chief management officer for the Defense Department calls the “very foundational piece.”

Project personnel also have learned what impacts both medical providers—including pharmacists—and patients, to better understand what they need. With that knowledge, project staff can define the capabilities to build into the iEHR.

The iEHR fits into the larger virtual lifetime electronic record, a business and technology initiative introduced by the president that includes a portfolio of health, benefits, personnel and administrative information sharing among government and private organizations. Baker notes that:

On the medical side, this is an important component of the virtual lifetime electronic record.

McGrath personalizes the integration issue, saying she would like for her doctors to have all the information they need to make the best choices for future care:

Right now, the doctor is relying on less information rather than more. With access to the iEHR, health care providers will have more data so they can make the best possible decisions with regard to treatment options.

What pitfalls or roadblocks may exist to reach the goal of a fully functional iEHR? How can the military, industry partners and other interested organizations help this process fully succeed? All info in one place, imagine that? Share you opinions here. 

The hard-and-fast, no-exceptions deadline to apply for the Scholarships for Military Children Program is fast approaching. All applications must be received at eligible military commissaries by February 24. At least one $1,500 scholarship will be awarded at each commissary location where qualified applications are received. More than one scholarship may be handed out depending on response and funding. Recipients can use the awards for tuition, books, lab fees and other education-related expenses. 

Children of active duty, Reserve, Guard or retired military commissary customers can apply for the scholarships. Recipients must be enrolled or planning to enroll full-time in a four-year undergraduate college or university accredited in the U. S. and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 basis. For complete rules and requirements, visit the program’s website.

The scholarships are funded primarily through companies who sell goods at commissaries.

Homefront Help also has a Facebook page where visitors can gather and share information. If you know of a program that is helping service personnel, veterans or their families please submit that information to Rita Boland, SIGNAL’s news editor.

The British Ministry of Defense recently announced plans to develop a Royal Navy missile defense system, known as Sea Ceptor, capable of intercepting and destroying enemy missiles traveling at supersonic speeds. The £483 million ($761.3 million) contract to develop the system will be awarded to a U.K. company. Sea Ceptor will use a U.K.-developed missile that can reach speeds of up to Mach 3 and will deal with multiple targets simultaneously, protecting an area of approximately 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) over land or sea. It will be developed under a demonstration contract expected to continue for five years. Sea Ceptor will initially be used on the Type 23 frigate to replace the Sea Wolf air defense system, which is being retired from service in 2016. Plans call for the Sea Ceptor also to be used on the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. Its flexible design enables it to be adapted for use by the British Army and the Royal Air Force in the future.

The Co-occurring Conditions Toolkit app for Android and iPhone serves as a quick reference for primary care providers working with patients experiencing a mild traumatic brain injury along with other co-occurring conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, chronic pain and substance abuse.

Developed by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2), the mobile app includes clinical practice guidelines and recommendations from the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. It gives health care professionals immediate access to critical information, which ultimately improves the quality of care for service members and veterans. The program includes treatment recommendations, enhanced provider-patient interactions and specialty referrals.

The app is free and available for download from the iTunes App Store and the Android Market.

For information on all the mobiles apps available from the T2, visit www.t2health.org/mobile-apps.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new websites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

Got a good idea for a small satellite? NASA has issued a broad agency announcement seeking low-cost flight demonstration proposals for small satellites, which generally weigh less than 400 pounds and are usually launched as secondary payloads. The NASA Edison SmallSat Demonstration Program says this solicitation will focus on the communications capabilities of these small spacecraft. Executive summaries of these proposals are due no later than March 4, 2012. For more information, visit: www.nasa.gov/oct.

Technology transfer—a big buzzword some decades ago—is where companies found commercial uses for military technologies. Over the years, military and industry continue to share new ideas, programs and systems, and just about any otherwise awesome products that benefit both arenas. It’s perhaps another anchor in the military-industrial complex.

But when military technology is found to possibly fight cancer—that is welcoming news, as reported by George I. Seffers in his article,”Mine-Hunting Technology Learns to Fight Cancer,” in this issue of SIGNAL Magazine. Seffers speaks to the Office of Naval Research‘s Jason Stack, program officer in charge of the effort.

The ONR is developing active-learning software for identifying undersea mines. The goal is to make underwater mine-hunting robots smarter, eliminating the need for divers to risk their lives, according to Stack:

Within the world of naval mine countermeasures, our overarching goals are to find mines faster and get the man out of the minefield. That’s what we try to do. The active learning algorithms work with humans to help identify mines.

Doctors also face a similar problem: identifying specific cells in human tissue. Physicians must view hundreds of microscopic images containing millions of cells, which can take weeks for a pathologist to manually pinpoint cells in 100 images.

To aid in identifying cells, doctors commonly use an open-source computer program known as Fluorescence Association Rules for Quantitative Insight (FARSIGHT). Developed with funding provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Institutes of Health, FARSIGHT identifies cells based on a subset of examples initially labeled by a physician.

Doctors up until now, for example, have not been studying endothelial cells because of time constraints. With FARSIGHT’s integrated active learning, however, the process is now automated and “highly accurate.” The enhanced FARSIGHT can accomplish in a few hours what once would have taken days or weeks.

Badri Roysam is chairman of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Houston in Texas. He is also the program investigator for FARSIGHT and says the technology also is being used to benefit the Defense Department’s research into neuroprosthetic devices—robotic arms and legs connected directly to the brain for more natural control and movement.

Right now, the state of the art in active-learning technology is software that asks simple questions requesting that the user label a piece of data, such as whether or not an image is a mine, Stack explains. The final version will feature a prototype that is able to ask many more questions and learn more quickly.

Can FARSIGHT be integrated seamlessly into the medical field, and what impact will this have on peoples’ lives and budgets? Share you opinions and suggestions here.

The U.S. Defense Department has awarded $18 million to six programs to reduce the energy demand of future expeditionary outposts. The assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs will administer the funds, which are granted programs aimed at developing and rapidly transitioning energy technologies for the combat force. Defense Department-led teams representing the military services and the Department of Energy will receive the money but are seeking support and innovation from small businesses. In March, the military and Small Business Administration will host an information session for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Additional information about the teams can be found at http://energy.defense.gov.

Promoting the idea that “Kids Deploy Too!” when they see parents go to battle overseas, Military Kids Connect offers children of the armed forces an online forum to network with others in the same situation. Users can participate on message boards, take part in activities and games or watch videos of children who have experienced a parent’s deployment. Monitored social networking features allow military dependents to share their struggles and experiences in a secure environment. Resources are divided by age groups: 6 to 8 years; 9 to 12 years; and 13 to 17 years. Developers of the site hope it eases the pain children go through during a deployment.

The website also includes sections for teachers and parents and for caregivers, offering information and guides. Parents can learn more about summaries of typical behaviors throughout the deployment cycle depending on age and receive some parenting tips. Military Kids Connect is an initiative of the U.S. Defense Department’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology.

Homefront Help also has a Facebook page where visitors can gather and share information. If you know of a program that is helping service personnel, veterans or their families please submit that information to Rita Boland, SIGNAL’s news editor.

Elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan are now using the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Rifleman Radio combined with the GD300 wearable computer. The radio enables intrasquad communications, and the GD300’s Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) tactical app allows soldiers to share text messages, situation reports and other information. The Rifleman is part of the JTRS Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit radio family, which uses the Soldier Radio Waveform to provide networked voice and data communications in austere and cluttered urban environments. The GD300 touchscreen display enables users to place graphics and send maps to team members or leaders using the TIGR app. When combined, soldiers can use the equipment to display the position-location information of all other warfighters operating in the network. General Dynamics C4 Systems and General Dynamics Itronix developed the Rifleman Radio and GD300, respectively.

Get a new perspective on the world with the Layar app for iPhone and Android that displays real-time information over top of the image on your phone’s camera.

The free app uses your GPS location and augmented reality technology to discover information about the world around you and present it in “layers” on your smartphone. Choose from a catalog of more than 3,000 layers and experience the world in a new way.

For example, if you’re traveling to a country on business and looking for a restaurant, open the “Eat” layer and point the phone camera at the street in front of you. Various restaurant names and locations will pop up over the image. You can even see reviews in another layer.

From retail shops to real estate information and more, the layers explore the world around you in real time.

Download the free app from the iTunes App Store or the Android Market.

These sites are not affiliated with AFCEA or SIGNAL Magazine, and we are not responsible for the content or quality of the products offered. When visiting new websites, please use proper Internet security procedures.