The Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Research (FITBIR) database is a collaborative effort by NIH and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) to develop a biomedical information system and data repository for TBI research.
FITBIR, an informatics system is a free web-based resource enabling data to be shared with methodologies and associate tools rather than just provide summaries of the information.The Defense Health Program has an agreement with USAMRMC to be the lead DOD component funding the FITBIR database. FITBIR designed to speed up comparative effectiveness research on brain injury treatment and diagnosis, has already received $10 million for over four years. The plan is for the database to serve as a central storage area for not only new data input, but also to have the capability to link current databases to one another, allowing for valid comparison of results across multiple studies.
TBIs are not just a problem for the military. TBI has become an increasingly recognized problem in the sports arena as well. Contact sports like football can come with a wide array of injuries, so it is not surprising that organizations also participating in brain research include the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and the NFL.
The NFL has donated $30 million in support of research on serious medical conditions prominent in athletes and relevant to the general population, making the donation, the largest philanthropic gift that the NFL has given in the league’s 92 year history. The NFL is now recognizes as the founding donor to a new Sports and Health Research Program, in collaboration with NIH.
For more information, go to http://fitbir.nih.gov.