The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio www.wpafb.af.mil has studied the use of the new Dynamic Athletic Research Institute’s (DARI) 3D technology to predict injuries before they happen. The DARI system looks at how a person moves their body while performing functional tasks and then is able to predict where an injury might occur up to two weeks before it might happen.
The equipment uses eight high speed cameras placed around a person to track 21 bone segments and nine joints while measuring the range of motion, joint torque, and a host of other biomechanics while not using markers.
“The DARI is able to identify musculoskeletal limitations to elite performance and enables researchers to identify biomechanical and physiological interventions that could maximize muscular strength and reduce injury,” according to Principle Investigator Dr. Reginald B. O’Hara, USAFSAM Operational Health and Performance Division.
DARI is currently being used by professional and college basketball and football teams, U.S. Olympic Boxing, and many others to enhance performance. Wright Patterson is the only base in DOD to use the system to assess airmen who may be prone to musculoskeletal injuries.
“The near plan is to do research on airmen who have incurred some type of musculoskeletal injury or who may be prone to injuries based on certain movement patterns. This is especially important for those on active duty seeking to improve overall fitness and want to participate in important human performance studies for the Air Force” said O’Hara.
This research has been ongoing for the past three years through a cooperative relationship between USAFSAM as part of the 711th Human Performance Wing and the 88th Force Support Squadron. The research has been completed and the DARI equipment was recently installed and scheduled to start assessing Airmen this spring.