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In fiscal year 2017 (FY17), the Department of Defense (DoD) Blast Injury Research Program Coordinating Office (PCO) established the DoD Working Group on Computational Modeling of Human Lethality, Injury, and Impairment from Blast-related Threats (WG) on behalf of the Executive Agent (EA) to shape, focus, and coordinate the DoD's computational modeling efforts. This is intended to enable a new DoD capability for modeling and simulation of human lethality, injury, and impairment from the entire spectrum of blast-related threats and environments and from the point of interaction with the blast hazard to return-to-routine. WG Members are program managers from the DoD and other federal agencies (i.e., DHS, FAA, FBI, NASA, NIH, NHSTA, NSF, VA) funding human body computational modeling programs and related activities. Some of the efforts of this WG include critically assessing the capability and fidelity of the current state-of-the-art in modeling of the human body, promoting coordination, collaboration, and data sharing across the DoD for modeling of human responses to blast-related threats, and identifying knowledge and technology gaps to provide funding recommendations for ongoing and future programs.
On 5-6 February 2019, the WG is hosting a Computational Human Body Modeling Performer Workshop (Performer Workshop) to gather information on the state-of-the-science to inform development of the Strategic Plan for a computational modeling framework to house an all-encompassing DoD Modeling Capability (Modeling Capability) that incorporates existing and planned models. For the purposes of this Performer Workshop, "performers" are defined as developers and users of computational human body models from industry, academia, DoD, and non-DoD federal agencies.
To inform the development of the Modeling Capability, the WG intends to leverage the expertise that resides within and outside of the DoD and other federal agencies. The Modeling Capability will accurately model and simulate human lethality, injury, and impairment from all blast-related threats and environments and will complement DoD-sponsored experimental projects to aid in understanding blast effects on Warfighter survivability, on design safety components to mitigate injuries sustained by Warfighters, for ensuring injured Warfighters can return to their daily routines, and for rapidly responding to future threats. The Modeling Capability will leverage validated computational models which address the entire blast injury taxonomy under all operational conditions, spatial scales (individual tissues to a population of Warfighters), time scales (milliseconds after interaction to months/years of rehabilitation), and modeling paradigms. Models used within the Modeling Capability will be able to interface with models external to the human body, such as models of personal protective equipment and combat platforms.
The goals of the Performer Workshop are to:
1)Collect information on the state-of-the-science in human body modeling and simulation
2)Develop an understanding of the future of human body computational modeling
3)Assemble knowledge on potential challenges in public/private partnerships
4)Understand current challenges in inter-model communication
Abstracts are encouraged across a diversity of fields including but not limited to the ones outlined below. Bolded topics are of specific interest to the WG Members.
-Musculoskeletal and/or cognitive regeneration (agent based muscle models, bone regeneration, cognitive performance, etc.)
-Pharm kinetic/Pharmacological (e.g., bio gears, etc.)
-Body systems (vascular, nervous, digestive, etc.)
-Chemical/biological./radiological contamination (e.g. Joint Effects Model)
-Finite element and Computational Fluid Dynamics (e.g., musculoskeletal and soft tissue injury, etc.)
-Neuromuscular (e.g., human movement, ergonomics, etc.)
The Performer Workshop will be limited to 150 performers, with the number of performers representing an individual organization or institution limited to two. Presenters will be allowed to register first and then registration will be opened to the public. There is no registration fee, though early registration is highly encouraged. Information about registration will be provided at https://blastinjuryresearch.amedd.army.mil/.
Performers wishing to present their computational model as part of the Performer Workshop must submit an abstract by 28 December 2018. One abstract submission is allowed per performer. Abstracts can be no longer than 2 pages and must be single spaced using Times New Roman 12-point font for all text, including references and figure captions. Figures and references must be embedded in the document and count against the page limit. Nominated abstracts will be selected for a 15 minute oral presentation (12 minute briefings with 3 minutes for Q&A) or selected for a poster presentation. Posters will be presented throughout the Performer Workshop during specified session times.
Abstracts should describe the development, validation, and use of the performer's computational model. References should accompany the descriptions. Abstracts will be evaluated in each of following areas:
1.Quality of the written abstract
2.Current state of the development of the computational model
3.Current state of model validation, and robustness of validation process
4.Extent to which the model is used by the broader community
Abstracts will be evaluated by WG Members and an associated support team. After considering the evaluations, individual reviewer recommendations, comments from committee discussion, and diversity of models, abstracts that best fit the Performer Workshop goals will be selected and assigned either an oral presentation or a poster presentation.
For the purposes of this RFI the following terms have been defined by the WG:
Computational Model: The numerical implementation of a conceptual model including all mathematical, numerical, logical, and qualitative representations, and consisting of well-defined procedures, solution algorithms, and convergence criteria.
Validation: The process of determining the degree to which the computational model and associated data are accurate representations of the real world from the perspective of the intended use(s).
Performers who are selected to present a briefing or poster will be asked to prepare and submit their briefing or poster in advance. Content should provide an overview of modeling capabilities relevant to the theme of this Performer Workshop. Copies of the briefings or the posters must be submitted no later than 28 January 2019. Performers should come prepared to share knowledge and ideas relevant to the goals of the Performer Workshop. Performers' presentations should adhere to the meeting goals provided and not attempt to use the Performer Workshop as marketing, promotional, sales, or a contact-building event.
To respond to the RFI, please visit the DoD Blast Injury Research Program website at https://blastinjuryresearch.amedd.army.mil/private/index.cfm/rfi . You will be asked to provide basic contact information and will then be provided a user name, password, and a link to the submission site. After submitting your document, you will receive confirmation that your document was successfully submitted.
DISCLAIMERS AND IMPORTANT NOTES
This RFI is issued solely for information and program planning purposes; it does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Submission is voluntary and is not required to respond to a subsequent Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) (if any) or other research solicitation (if any) on this topic. The USAMRMC/U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA)/DoD Blast Injury Research PCO will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that USAMRAA/USAMRMC/DoD Blast Injury Research PCO are under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Information in responses will be held confidential to the extent permitted under applicable laws and regulations. Any proprietary, non-public information should be marked so.
Contractual based questions ONLY should be addressed to the Contract Specialist for this RFI, Mr. Matthew Elden, via e-mail at [email protected]. ALL technical questions with the submission website or technical content submission shall be directed to the MRMC Blast Office @ (301)619-9801. The website for the Blast Injury Research PCO can be accessed at https://blastinjuryresearch.amedd.army.mil.