Commander's Blog

The inventors of our world spend their days looking for new and better ways to do things. Whether it's improvements to our cars, our phones, our water bottles – or one of a million other items – this proactive group of people hope to solve life's problems to make our lives easier. When it comes down to it, that's exactly what we do every day here at USAMMDA, and we have a dedicated staff of professionals whose main task is to make the lives of our nation's Warfighters better and safer. Our mission is to convert critical ideas to reality for the men and women of our military – and this certainly takes quite a lot of knowledge and just as much commitment from our entire team.

For instance, consider the innovative work we do each day at USAMMDA's Medical Prototype Development Laboratory, under the guidance of supervisor Mark Brown. Our MPDL team is continually tasked with solving life-saving problems by modifying a current product or device, or developing a new one from start to finish using high-tech equipment in our state-of-the-art facility at Fort Detrick. Although the MPDL is well-trained and equipped in the work of developing concepts into products, sometimes this work involves collaborating with other developers. An example of this is the Sirkin-Hiles Rail (SHRAIL) system, which was named after its two inventors, who are both Army surgeons. This device is a rail system designed to mount to a standard NATO litter and transform it into a surgical platform. The concept was conceived by the Soldiers' first-hand experience performing surgery in the field, and the limitations of projecting life-saving capabilities far forward. Brown often says that this intersection of need and capability is where concepts come to life in the form of inventions.

With the SHRAIL device, our collaborative efforts leveraged the experience of the Army surgeons with our engineers and highly skilled technicians to design, model, fabricate and assemble eight working prototypes. The SHRAIL provides surgeons and medics with a platform to utilize standard surgical table accessories mounted to the litter rail system. Typically found in a traditional hospital, these are critical accessories that aid in maximizing capability in a limited manpower setting, such as surgical retractors or the mounting of typical items, such as a mayo instrument tray, infusion stand, arm boards, stirrups, and universal clamps. This important advancement will enable medical personnel to add virtually any accessory to the system – all on a standard litter. This project has passed user evaluations both at home and down range, and it now has a patent pending.

Speaking of our invention patents, USAMMDA's MPDL team members are listed as inventors and/or co-inventors on numerous products with our colleagues of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, our Higher Headquarters. These patents include:

• U.S. Patent # 5,224,148: X-ray Cassette Holder and Positioning Device
• U.S. Patent # 5,375,276: Portable Surgical Table
• U.S. Patent # 6,988,394: Apparatus and Method of Portable Automated Bio-monitoring Apparatus and Method
• U.S. Patent # 7,702,473: Submersible Portable In-Situ Automated Water Quality Bio-monitoring Apparatus and Method
• U.S. Patent # 8,973,565 B2: Device and Method for Inducing Brain Injury in Animal Test Subjects

Another way that we incorporate innovation into our daily work is through our partnerships with many research organizations to develop products utilizing the Small Business Innovation Research program. The SBIR program offers small businesses the opportunity to conduct research and development projects with the primary goal of making new discoveries and creating new products. A great example of USAMMDA's work connected to this program is our recent Investigational New Drug application submission for the Modernized Production Adenovirus Vaccine. Collaborating with our contractor PaxVax, Inc., which is the small business serving as the regulatory sponsor, our Pharmaceutical Systems team along with Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is moving forward with two new prototypes of the Adenovirus Type 4 and Type 7 vaccine, which has been protecting our Service Members since 2011. Although our current vaccine is highly effective, we are always seeking ways to improve our products and methods of production, and this is just another way of ensuring that we are conducting our business in the best possible fashion. As the program manager for this effort, Dr. Cliff Snyder is doing a fantastic job in making sure we continue to supply our military men and women with this important vaccine.

While many of us may think of invention in terms of creating new products, the process truly stems from finding new ideas and ways of doing things. The way to develop these ideas is through education, and it is important that all of us broaden our knowledge base by seeking opportunities for continuing education. As professionals, we should continue to learn and grow throughout our careers, as this helps to ensure that we remain up-to-date with current topics in our respective fields. At USAMMDA, we have helped to encourage professional training by establishing the Leadership Development Program, and we hope that many of our staff members take advantage of this six-month program as we move forward. There are certainly many exciting prospects on the horizon for our USAMMDA team, and we truly want to be on the leading edge of every opportunity that our group can garner.

In conjunction with continuing education, which typically is focused on professional knowledge, I also encourage everyone to read regularly for personal enrichment. Some of my favorites are biographies and historical books, but I believe all genres have great merit in broadening one's personal scope. Plus, when we sit down with an interesting book, we're often able to forget about our daily tasks for a little while, which allows us to recharge our batteries. As the saying goes, "all work and no play" is not really a good idea, and good ideas are exactly what we are trying to discover each day here at USAMMDA!

As always, my gratitude goes out to all for your tremendous effort week after week. Our work in taking great ideas and turning them into effective products, drugs and devices for our Service Members is being recognized throughout the Department of Defense and beyond. And none of this innovation would take place without the dedication of our amazing team!

Every day is a great day when we're helping our Warfighters accomplish the mission!

Hooah!

COL William Geesey