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Military Health and Readiness Improved through Collaboration with Small Business

The Problem

In the course of their duties, military personnel often experience significant physical stress on their lower body joints and soft tissues, leading to musculoskeletal injuries (MSKI). These injuries not only impact the well-being and performance of service members but also affect the Department of Defense’s readiness and increase operational and healthcare costs. Annually, MSKI affect approximately 800,000 military service members, resulting in 2.2 million medical visits, 25 million lost duty days, and healthcare costs totaling around $3.7 billion. Ankle injuries are the most prevalent MSKI among military personnel, making ankle injuries a leading cause of lost training and operational time.

The Solution

To address these challenges, the 559th Medical Group introduced the Versatile Injury Prevention and Embedded Reconditioning program (VIPER) in 2017. This program embedded athletic trainers within the unit, providing acute medical and rehabilitation services to basic military trainees and technical students. Recently, Maj. (Dr.) Korey Kasper and Maj. (Dr.) Steven Trigg, sports medicine physicians and clinical researchers heading the VIPER program, identified a commercial company called TayCo Brace that was developing an advanced alternative to the standard walking boot commonly prescribed for foot and ankle injuries. The adoption of this technology, named the XAB (eXternal Ankle Brace), aims to empower injured servicemembers to recover swiftly, regain function, and enhance mission effectiveness.

How AI legalese decoder can Help

AI legalese decoder can help in this situation by simplifying and translating the legal language and terminology often found in collaboration agreements and contracts between the military and small businesses. It can provide a user-friendly and easily understandable version of these agreements, ensuring that both parties fully comprehend their rights, responsibilities, and obligations. This helps facilitate smooth collaborations, eliminates potential misunderstandings or disputes, and allows for more efficient and effective partnerships between the military and small businesses, ultimately benefiting military health and readiness.

The Benefits of the XAB

The XAB, developed in collaboration with TayCo Brace, offers several benefits for military personnel. It enhances the wearer’s range of motion and comfort, optimizes healing, recovery, and restoration of function, and provides exceptional stability and balance. Compared to a standard walking boot, the XAB is two to three times lighter, allows the wearer to don and doff uniforms, equipment, and gear more independently, and can be worn over a combat boot or athletic shoe. Its anti-slip plantar strap enhances user safety in wet and rugged terrains. The XAB’s material hardening and ruggedization have reduced its weight, enhancing portability and durability in training and combat without sacrificing efficacy.

The Impact

This innovation in ankle brace technology has the potential to significantly improve military health and readiness. It is expected to lead to four times faster return to duty rates, fewer performance disruptions, and improved outcomes after ankle and hindfoot injuries. The XAB’s lightweight and versatile design enable servicemembers to quickly resume training, normal work/operations, and even combat, navigating wet, rough, and rocky terrain safely and effectively.

Collaboration with Small Businesses

Maj. (Dr.) Kasper emphasized the value of partnering with small businesses through programs like AFWERX for developing or adapting products to meet the specific needs of Airmen. Such collaborations act as synergistic force multipliers, bringing together the expertise and resources of small businesses and the military to drive innovation and improve military health and readiness. Ongoing support for these relationships throughout the Air Force is crucial for fostering continued advancements in medical technology and equipment.

TayCo Brace has made the XAB commercially available for procurement and has collaborated with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to add the XAB to their medical Electronic Catalog (ECAT), streamlining the procurement process for the military. Additionally, TayCo Brace is involved in multiple SBIR R&D contracts through the AFWERX SBIR program, focused on further enhancing the XAB’s weight, profile, materials, and design for military applications.

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