US Department of Defense
BLAST INJURY RESEARCH
COORDINATING OFFICE
Advancing Blast Injury Research to Protect and Heal Those Who Serve

Way Forward


In the coming year, the BIRCO plans to finalize recommendations from the BIPSR Process for the Spine and Back and Upper Extremity Blast Injury Types. The science and technology knowledge gaps, findings, and recommendations for these Blast Injury Types, as well as the Lower Extremity Blast Injury Type, will be shared with the medical research community to inform the development of future MHS Blast Injury Prevention Standards. The BIRCO also plans to initiate the BIPSR Process for the Dermal Burns Blast Injury Type. In continuation of efforts to enhance BIPSR Process capabilities, the BIRCO plans to continue to prove out the iBIPSR capability using the Auditory Blast Injury Type as exemplar. The BIRCO provided initial iBIPSR site access to the Auditory Focused Stakeholders, with their feedback driving improvements as they engage with the site. The BIRCO anticipates moving forward with the iBIPSR capability on future BIPSR Process evaluations, and plans to provide access to relevant Stakeholder communities. In addition, the BIRCO plans to continue the reprioritization of the remaining BIPSR Process Blast Injury Types with the participation of BIPSR Process Stakeholders. Lessons learned from each Blast Injury Type evaluation will be applied to refine and enhance the BIPSR Process. Ultimately, the knowledge gaps discovered and the recommendations developed through the BIPSR Process will enable the DoD to apply MHS Blast Injury Prevention Standards that support weapon system health hazard assessments, combat platform occupant survivability assessments, and protection system development and performance testing.

Last modified: 31-Jan-2022