Page 81 - JSOM Winter 2022

provide individualized education and recommendations. Re- additional physical, neurocognitive, psychological, and life-
cent advances in digital and other technologies allow accurate style assessments. Its aims are to support the warfighter pre-
collection of continuous and simultaneous datasets, providing and post-deployment and to optimize warfighter performance
more comprehensive data, improved assessment, and better re- over the study duration of 6 months.
sults. 5,7,8 The time is ripe for this approach: digital technology
methods also enable a more comprehensive assessment of the Application Design
totality of factors that influence human health, such as physi-
cal, environmental, neurocognitive, psychological, and lifestyle The design of the BCRP platform has several features that
factors that are dynamic in nature. 9–11 In the Army-Wide Holis- define its novel research methodology, which are illustrated
tic Health and Fitness (H2F) program, the Army has expressed in Figure 1. Data are collected continuously via a wearable
its need for a digital interface tool of all mental and physical Apple Watch and an iPhone mobile app (frontend, warfighter
aspects of human performance to address and maintain soldier facing), and communicates to the backend server, as shown in
readiness. 12–13 the middle rectangle of Figure 1. Surveys are pushed through
the mobile app and watch at scheduled intervals through
Digital data collection has an advantage over one-time in- the Schedule Server. The continuous data collection and the
person data collection in that it is continuous and facilitates in-platform analysis of that data (Insights Server) are designed
the accumulation of holistic health data. This is particularly to provide individual and continuous insights into early indi-
important for SOF as the information gathered in this manner cators of physical and mental behavioral degradation. Over
can be turned into an action plan to continuously preserve time, analytic services can learn the patterns, goals, and habits
warfighters’ health. It can also improve the resiliency of the of the warfighter. These analytic services can respond with in-
force across deployment cycles and over Servicemembers’ mil- app data visualizations to alert the user to negative or positive
itary careers. The breadth of comprehensive warfighter data trends. They can also push targeted and individualized educa-
collected will allow for evolution of personalized health and tional content using video or written validated content.
behavior insights for the warfighter, the unit, and the Depart-
ment of Defense (DoD). FIGURE 1 Body computing research platform structure.

In particular, commercially available and medically regulated
digitally-enabled sensors and software provide a unique op-
portunity in design for the physical and social needs of the
warfighter. Such technology can deliver the earliest informa-
tion related to health and human performance status, so that
the appropriate awareness and mitigations can be put in place.
Digital cORA is an ongoing research study using both com-
mercially available devices and internally developed software.
Its objective is to increase operational warfighter insights into
their own holistic health, from redeployment to deployment.

Methods
Digital cORA is designed to study warfighter engagement in
a digital version of the in-person cORA. The in-person cORA The rectangular boxes in Figure 1 list the physical, cognitive,
was developed as a 1-day in-person holistic assessment of a emotional states, psychological traits, and military perfor-
3RD Special Forces Group (Airborne) [3RD SFG(A)] member mance data that are currently collected. Planned integrations
within 60 days of redeployment. Data collection assessments of other technologies of interest can easily be integrated. These
of the in-person cORA spanned assessments of Personality include other sensor-enabled consumer wearables and medi-
Profiles, Sleep and Alcohol Inventories, Body Composition, cally regulated analyte sensors. Such analyte sensors continu-
Functional Movement Screens, Neurocognitive Testing, and ously measure metabolic states by detecting interstitial glucose,
Resiliency Tests. The intent of the assessment was to gain un- ketones, and lactate. Adding categories of digital therapeutics
derstanding of the needs of redeployment team members to for sleep or neural restoration – such as virtual or augmented
better prevent adverse or red-line events. reality and spatial sound – can also be added to the platform
and evaluated for benefit.
We developed the Body Computing Research Platform (BCRP)
to allow for collection of data via a custom-made secure mo- Future integration of military tasks and training schedules will
bile application (app) that extends the type, scope, and fre- allow warfighters and researchers to detect relationships be-
quency of data collection well beyond what is feasible during tween military tasks and schedules. It may also provide insight
an in-person encounter. The digital version of the cORA pro- into mental and physical well-being and load.
gram, Digital cORA, was modeled to extend and expand upon
the measures of the in-person cORA. It was also designed to Other unique characteristics of the platform include the abil-
align with the five pillars of the existing US Special Operations ity of researchers to anonymously contact warfighters, to add
Command (USSOCOM) Preservation of the Force and Fam- app enhancements based on user feedback, and to collect ad-
ily (POTFF) program (the Physical, Psychological, Cognitive, ditional data at unplanned intervals.
Social and Family and Spiritual domains). It augments and
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expands the current cORA program by digitizing the exist- Taken together, these features help to drive app adherence.
ing assessments of the standing program, and incorporating This is consistent with research showing strong digital health

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