Service members at the frontlines of world conflicts will have a better chance at survival, thanks to a $6.67M research award from the Department of Defense through the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) to the University of Chicago (UC). The University of Chicago project, titled Neurotrauma Training Program for Military Providers: Bridging Gaps in Deployed Neurosurgical Capability and Improving Wartime Readiness was selected by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) for the MTEC Military Prototype Advancement Initiative (MPAI).

Over the next three years, researchers at the University of Chicago, including the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center and Data for the Common Good, will partner with the Biorepository at the Military Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative at the Uniformed Services University and the Coalition for National Trauma Research (CNTR). Together, they will develop a model neurotrauma training program for military surgeons to equip ready deployable teams with neurosurgical skills and knowledge in war zones, and will create a comprehensive penetrating brain injury (PBI) data/imaging commons and biospecimen library. These crucial new resources will help improve our understanding and management of PBI. Ensuring that the surgeons closest to the battlefield have this specific skill set will save lives.

While a clinical practice guideline currently exists recommending that non-neurosurgeons perform cranial procedures on soldiers with penetrating brain injuries in emergency settings when no neurosurgeon is available, the knowledge and experience required for general surgeons to be able to perform craniotomy/craniectomy successfully is lacking. A recent survey determined that both neurosurgeons and non-neurosurgeons felt that more comprehensive training before deployment is needed to improve neurosurgical capabilities in the forward-deployed environment.

The project Principal Investigator is Dr. Susan Rowell and the leadership team is a collaboration between the Departments of Neurosurgery (Paramita Das MD MS),  Neurocritical Care (Fernando Goldenberg MD and Ali Mansour MD MS), and Surgery (Susan Rowell MD MBA MCR and Kenneth Wilson MD). Additional co-investigators include Christos Lazaridis MD, and Timothy Plackett DO MPH. Collaborators include LTC Bradley Dengler MD (Uniformed Services University); Maryellen Giger PhD (Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center [MIDRC]), and Samuel Volchenboum MD PhD (Data for Common Good [DRCG]).

Over the next three years, they will create a program that includes didactics, simulation-based, cadaveric, and hands-on training. They will also create a consortium of four civilian Level 1 trauma centers with a high volume of patients with PBI, creating a data, imaging, and biospecimen repository.

CNTR’s role in the project includes identifying clinical study sites, managing all aspects of the multi-site study, and convening a workgroup of subject matter experts to develop basic common data elements and standard terminology for penetrating TBI studies.

“The data generated from this project will serve as a source for evidence-based treatment recommendations and provide the basis for studies that improve rapid diagnosis, prognostication, and outcome for civilians and service members with PBI,” said CNTR Executive Director Michelle Price, PhD. “The PBI common data elements will be created in the National Trauma Research Repository and will be available to others interested in designing studies. As PBI study data are submitted to the repository, cross-study analyses can be conducted to strengthen the body of evidence available to practitioners.”

The project kicked off in conjunction with the 2^nd Annual Chicago Neurotrauma Symposium; Penetrating Brain Injury – Establishing Priorities, held at the University of Chicago in September 2024, where a multidisciplinary group of clinicians, clinical research methodologists, and funding agencies met to identify key knowledge gaps in the management of firearm-inflicted brain injury.

CNTR is now recruiting Level 1 trauma centers to participate in the study. To be considered, complete the site survey at bit.ly/pTBISiteSurvey (deadline March 1, 2025)

About U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command:
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command is the Army’s medical materiel developer, with responsibility for medical research, development, and acquisition. USAMRDC produces medical solutions for the battlefield with a focus on various areas of biomedical research, including military infectious diseases, combat casualty care, military operational medicine, medical chemical and biological defense. https://mrdc.health.mil/.

About MTEC:
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. To find out more about MTEC, visit https://mtec-sc.org/.

This effort is sponsored by the Government under Other Transaction Number W81XWH-15-9-0001. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.