Representing Organizational Conservation of Information - Enterprise Information Systems Design, Implementation and Management: Organizational Applications - page 141

expertise to provide necessary treatment and on-
going support for both the patient and the patient's
caregivers - family members and significant oth-
ers. Successful management of TBI victims must
include the patients and their caregivers on-going
access to expertise and resources to solidify and
maintain initial therapeutic gains after the soldiers
return home, and in the course of their normal
daily activities (domestic life, work, school, and
leisure) in their home communities.

4. Deployment and validation of the system in
Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) barracks
5. Testing of the central hypothesis that the
system and model can explain the symptoms
associated with TBI and that it fits relevant
behavioral models
6. Perform additional clinical studies that
will explore potential treatment pathways,
and allow the development of management
recommendations.

Project A: “Returning Soldier
Assessment and Adjustment”

Part A.2: Contribution of Neuro-Endocrine
Abnormalities to Manifestations of TBI.
The key objective of this research will be to screen
for pituitary hormone abnormalities in warriors
hospitalized for the treatment of TBI.
The pituitary gland is part of a neural/hormonal
axis (hypothalamus, hypothalamic-pituitary por-
tal blood system along the pituitary stalk, ante-
rior pituitary gland) responsible for maintaining
physiologic metabolic balance. Brain injury that
damages neural—hypothalamic—ability to exert
control over the anterior pituitary gland can disrupt
normal hormonal cycles that vary according to
the time of day (circadian, diurnal), in month-
long cycles (menstrual), or in response to the
individual's metabolic status (feedback). Hypo-
thalamic hormones that regulate anterior pituitary
hormones travel down the portal blood vessels of
the stalk. If the pituitary stalk is damaged (as in
whiplash injury) and the flow of these brain influ-
ences is interrupted, the anterior pituitary loses
important regulatory direction. Stalk interruption
results in loss of cyclic hormone production, and
decreased anterior pituitary hormone production
in general, among which the consequences are
the inability to respond to stress. Damage to the
pituitary gland itself results in decreased produc-
tion of all anterior pituitary hormones, again with
the reduced ability to respond to stress or make
other metabolic adjustments.
At a critical and specific time of day, we will
obtain a single blood sample from each TBI victim

Collaborating Agencies :

• General Electric Global Research Division

• US Army/Fort Gordon/Eisenhower Army

Medical Center

• Center for Telehealth, Medical College of

Georgia

Part A.1: Remote Monitoring of Patients with
Traumatic Brain Injury to Facilitate Diagnosis
and Management.
The key objective of this research proposal is
to test the hypothesis that the symptoms of TBI
can be quantified using advanced remote, pas-
sive sensors and that the data captured can be
correlated with medical assessments to enable a
clearer understanding of disease incidence and
progression in TBI.
The steps to be undertaken in our approach to
achieving this key objective include:

1. Identification of the key symptoms and
clinical pathways of TBI
2. Mapping disease symptoms to standard,
physical and behavioral, clinical models
3. Development of a sensor informatics sys-
tem that measures relevant activities and
behaviors;