Skip to main content

Military Health System

Test of Sitewide Banner

This is a test of the sitewide banner capability. In the case of an emergency, site visitors would be able to visit the news page for addition information.

Innovative mobile technologies impact DOD health surveillance

Image of Medical personnel using a syringe to inject a fluid into a test tube. Dr. Peter Larson loads an Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencer in support of COVID-19 sequencing assay development at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Maryland. (Photo by John Braun Jr., USAMRIID.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of collaboration and information-sharing forums for those working in the health field.

An example of one such forum is the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division (AFHSD), Global Emerging Infections Surveillance (GEIS) Branch’s Next Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Consortium (NGSBC) and their mobile next generation sequencing (NGS) working group.

The NGSBC was created in 2017, bringing together DOD partners for coordination and improvement of pathogen genetic sequencing and analysis efforts. Subject matter experts from the Naval Medical Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, and the Naval Health Research Center assist the overseas service laboratories and other partners with protocol development, sample processing, and sequence data analysis.

As genetic sequencing capabilities have evolved and grown, so has the desire to have mobile platforms that could shorten the time from sample collection to final results reporting. Therefore GEIS and partners are exploring the use of mobile NGS technology in the laboratory, the field, and austere environments. To support these efforts, the mobile NGS working group was derived from the NGSBC in 2019 and focuses on increasing knowledge and use of mobile NGS technologies.

“This is a much needed working group to connect portable sequencing platform users across the DOD,” said Dr. Cory Bernhards, a member of the group who uses mobile NGS methods. “It will boost efficiency and foster collaboration among the different laboratories.”

The mobile NGS forum supports communication and collaboration between DOD and other government laboratories by creating a platform for partners to share protocols and provide training sessions. Participants meet regularly to discuss issues like how to address unique matters related to the way work is conducted in the field and not in a traditional lab - such as how to keep reagents and supplies at safe temperatures and how to perform remote complex computer-based data analysis. They also present use cases of pathogenic viruses including SARS-CoV-2 sequencing results from the Oxford Nanopore MinION, a type of mobile NGS technology.

“This working group will greatly accelerate progress toward fielding sequencing capabilities to serve and protect the warfighter,” said Bernhards.

The working group currently has more than 100 participants from 28 different organizations, including interagency partners from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration.

GEIS will continue to support partners in implementing capabilities for mobile NGS platforms, to set goals for using the technology, and to provide resources to address challenges. Navy Capt. Guillermo Pimentel, chief of GEIS, expressed his optimism for this mobile lab capability. 

"Having a mobile sequencing capability could provide an advantage in the early detection of an infectious disease that could negatively impact our deployed forces." Pimentel also highlighted the potential use of the technology, “The platform could also be used to determine if insects collected as part of regular vector surveillance carry viruses that could cause diseases in an operational setting."

You also may be interested in...

Effective Health IT Reduces Burnout, Improves Patient Care

Article
5/25/2023
Effective Health IT Reduces Burnout, Improves Patient Care

Information technology and its intersection with military health care was at the forefront of a key discussion at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference, held in Chicago, Illinois, from April 17 to 21.

DHA Senior Leader: ‘Virtual First’ is the Future of Military Health System

Article
5/25/2023
DHA Senior Leader: ‘Virtual First’ is the Future of Military Health System

The Military Health System needs to invest in culture change to truly put the patient first.

How COVID-19 Public Health Emergency’s End Affects TRICARE

Article Around MHS
5/16/2023
Immunization Clinic photo

The Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 expired at the end of May 11. You might be wondering what this means about the state of COVID-19 or if there are changes to your TRICARE coverage.

Imaging Specialists Look Beyond the Skin

Article Around MHS
5/10/2023
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Leila Liza Smith, a diagnostic imaging specialist with the 6th Medical Group, practices abdominal ultrasound procedures at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, on ct. 25, 2022. Smith evaluates the images produced by the ultrasound for abnormalities, such as lumps or nodules on the thyroid gland. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Lauren Cobin)

Diagnostic imaging specialists are medical professionals that use imaging equipment and soundwaves to form images of many parts of the body, known as ultrasounds. They are trained to acquire and analyze these sonographic images so that doctors can diagnose and treat many medical conditions.

Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System – Hearing Conservation (DOEHRS-HC)

Fact Sheet
5/8/2023

The Defense Occupational and Environmental Health Readiness System – Hearing Conservation (DOEHRS-HC) is an information system designed to support personal auditory readiness and help prevent hearing loss through early detection.

Department of Defense Investing in Wearable Technology That Could Rapidly Predict Disease

Article Around MHS
5/8/2023
U.S. Air Force Airman Katiha Falcon wears a watch at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Dec. 3, 2020. The wearable technology is part of a study with the Defense Innovation Unit that will allow detection of illnesses such as COVID-19 within 48 hours. (Photo by Cynthia Griggs, U.S. Air Force)

The Defense Innovation Unit, in partnership with the private sector, has developed a wearable device that was highly successful during the COVID-19 pandemic in identifying infections.

Lab Professionals Play Key Role in Public Health and Patient Care

Article
5/2/2023
Lab Professionals Play Key Role in Public Health and Patient Care

Lab professionals provide value to the MHS and DHA communities.

Crosland Discusses Dawn of Digital Health at HIMSS 2023

Article
4/28/2023
Crosland Discusses Dawn of Digital Health at HIMSS 2023

“My priorities as a combat support agency are about health of the force, and the redesign of our health care system is about health of our patient,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Crosland. “And as an agency, it's about health of our people.”

Blanchfield Army Community Hospital ICU joins DHA’s Joint Tele-Critical Care Network

Article Around MHS
4/18/2023
Blanchfield Army Community Hospital Intensive Care Unit Chief Nurse U.S. Army Maj. Brenda Mitchell preforms a communication check with a nurse at the Defense Health Agency Virtual Medical Operations Center at Naval Medical Center San Diego, California, using the Joint Tele-Critical Care Network, on March 27. (Photo by Justin Moeller, Blanchefield Army Community Hospital

Blanchfield Army Community Hospital is the latest military hospital or clinic in the Military Health System to join the Defense Health Agency’s Joint Tele-Critical Care Network. The JTCCN virtually integrates 24/7 access to highly skilled critical care physicians, or intensivists, from DHA medical centers, or hubs like Naval Medical Center San Diego and Brooke Army Medical Center, with satellite intensive care units at nearly 20 military hospitals or clinics worldwide.

Like a Cable Boss: Connecting Medical Technology

Article Around MHS
4/12/2023
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Andrea President, a medical information service systems technician, 379th EMDSS, demonstrates using a cable testing device at the 379th EMDG radiology lab at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. (Photo by U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Bayard Lewis)

Inspecting and connecting tiny wires may seem like a small task, but it’s one that has a big effect on medical care that military patients receive in deployed locations like Qatar.

5 Reasons to Download MyCare Overseas App

Article
4/6/2023
5 Reasons to Download MyCare Overseas App

If you live overseas, the MyCare Overseas app makes it easy to manage your health care at home and on the go.

Protecting the Warfighter's Health and Readiness, Now and Into the Future

Article Around MHS
3/30/2023
An anopheles mosquito specimen sample sits under the microscope during a demonstration of the U.S. Army’s medical technology development and modernization efforts, Fort Detrick, Maryland, on Feb. 23. (Photo by Summer Abdoh, U.S. Army)

A cure for a debilitating and sometimes deadly disease, new treatments for working military dogs, a snakebite antidote, and a treatment for respiratory disease! See how years of research collaborations are providing protections for warfighters in remote places like never before.

COVID-19 Registry Provides Pandemic Response Insights, Optimizes Patient Care

Article
3/28/2023
COVID-19 Registry Provides Pandemic Response Insights, Optimizes Patient Care

Prior to the pandemic, the DOD began deploying MHS GENESIS, the new federal electronic health record, to improve health care outcomes for our service members, veterans, and their families. Critical enterprise needs quickly came to light to combat the impacts of the COVID-19 disease.

Navy’s Global Engagement Helps Identify and Mitigate Disease

Article
3/22/2023
Navy’s Global Engagement Helps Identify and Mitigate Disease

In support of the Military Health System, the Naval Medical Research Unit-2 is just one global entity that works with local partners to identify and combat global health threats.

Brooke Army Medical Center Interventional Radiology Offers Less-Invasive Option for Patients with Disc Degeneration

Article Around MHS
3/21/2023
U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Matthew Taon, interventional radiologist, demonstrates a minimally invasive image guided procedure at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. (Photo by Jason W. Edwards, Brooke Army Medical Center)

You may not have to go "under the knife" to ease debilitating back issues, thanks to a new technology. Find out how surgeons at Brooke Army Medical Center are relieving patients from pain where surgery was once the only option.

Page 1 of 41 , showing items 1 - 15
First < 1 2 3 4 5  ... > Last 
Refine your search
Last Updated: December 28, 2022
Follow us on Instagram Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on YouTube Sign up on GovDelivery