Few human activities demand or deserve as much attention of the citizens of a nation as the array of man-made and natural “environmental” threats faced by the soldiers and other warriors defending the nation – those that pose the risk of disease, injury, combat wounds, and even death. This book is the Army’s first detailing research in computational physiology models and highlighting pivotal research. It outlines the extent to which basic and applied biomedical scientists, clinicians, modelers, and others strive to understand the extent of these threats, and provide intellectual and materiel options to mitigate these risks.
This book summarizes major Army research efforts to quantify and model military relevant physiology. These chapters highlight the translation of this research into useful predictive tools. The tools are of importance to medical planners, materiel developers, commanders, and in many cases, every soldier. These chapters detail the experimental basis for many of the predictive tools that are currently in use. This book is written for military clinicians, and medical researchers who may be reasonably expected to explain some of the background, as well as those who will extend the research. Many people will find this book interesting because it details research on topics that affect everyone in everyday life, including how we sleep, eat, and exercise, as well as more specific topics such as the effects of caffeine on performance, risks associated with laser pointers, and even Army blast models that have influenced safety thresholds for car airbag deployments.
