A mild traumatic brain injury can be frustrating. Patients often look normal but can have a wide range of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, irritability and memory loss.
Concussive blasts from roadside bombs have made mTBI the signature injury of the Iraq war. And officials at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis showed two new techniques Wednesday to help patients deal with the injuries.
One is a memory enhancement program for soldiers with varying degrees of memory loss. The other is a digital writing implement that records hand movements to see if users have neurological problems.
“We want to use as many tools as we have available to help our patients,” said Col. Ronald Place, who runs Madigan’s daily operations.
The Army estimates 10 to 20 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have at least a mild form of traumatic brain injury. Last year, the Army launched programs to help mTBI patients and their families.
At Fort Lewis, soldiers returning from combat zones are required to complete questionnaires to help identify the condition. Incoming company commanders and first sergeants attend courses about how to observe symptoms of mTBI and post-traumatic stress disorder and then get help for their soldiers.
Two wings at the old Madigan site are under renovation to house the hospital’s mTBI program and should open next summer.
The memory program began last month. Soldiers are split into two groups: the educational group, for patients with mild memory concerns, and the cognitive group, for service members diagnosed with mTBI.
Soldiers in both groups learn about external aids, such as taking notes or keeping a schedule on a personal digital assistant. They’re also taught mental techniques to strengthen memory, such as using imagery to remember everything from names to a shopping list.
They’re also screened for other issues – emotional strain and sleep deprivation, to name two – that can affect memory.
The educational group meets weekly for an hour. The cognitive group sessions are smaller and last about 90 minutes. Doctors lead soldiers in drills that teach the brain to work simultaneously in different ways.
One such drill that neuropsychologist Dr. Dennis Kelly demonstrated Wednesday began by asking volunteer patients to divide a deck of playing cards. He then spelled out short words and asked the patients to say them as they sorted the cards.
The drill helps patients deal with divided attention. It’s a simple exercise they can continue at home, Kelly said.
“It’s a skill,” added Dr. Lars Hungerford, a neuropsychologist at Madigan. “You have to practice it.”
The memory program began last month. Eight soldiers are in the inaugural educational group, and two are in the cognitive group. An eventual goal, Kelly said, is to follow up with patients to see if the courses have a lasting effect.
The DigiPen works on a simple premise: Ask a patient to write or draw like he or she would with a normal pen and a piece of paper, and then analyze the data on a computer.
Motion and infrared sensors are built into the pen, about the size of a permanent marker, which can be hooked to a computer. The data show exact movements and timing of what was written.
Neurologists already study a patient’s drawing or handwriting skills, said Philip Cohen of Adapx, the Seattle-based company selling the DigiPen. But doctors can accommodate more patients with the new technology, he said, and they don’t have to watch the patient write in real time.
“Doctors can look at how the patients performed, where there were delays and issues like that,” Cohen said. “And then they can extrapolate what’s going on in the brain. They can figure out if it’s something like distractibility or frontal lobe impairment.”
Madigan has ordered 55 sets, each costing $295.
“It’s about being able to help more people,” said Dr. Fred Flynn, Madigan’s traumatic brain injury program director.
Scott Fontaine: 253-320-4758
blogs.thenewstribune.com/military
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