Neuropsychological assessment comes to Luke

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Stephen Delgado
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  A common denominator of every war from the Revolutionary War to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is injury to the head, whether emotional or physical. 

Traumatic brain injuries in the current conflicts are a focus of concern for leadership, according to Col. (Dr.) Joseph Chozinski, 56th Medical Group commander. 

"Brain injuries can range from a clearly visible entry wound, which requires surgery, to the invisible wound such as a concussion," said Colonel Chozinski. "There are substantial numbers of returning Airmen and Soldiers coming back with brain injuries, to include objective and subjective complaints." 

The key question is finding out who is injured and how severely. 

"This task is very difficult to do without an established baseline," Colonel Chozinski said. "How do we evaluate memory loss or slowed processing if we don't know where we started?" 

The Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metric Battery will help provide answers, according to Col. Dean Messelheiser, 56th Medical Operation Squadron commander. 

"The ANAM battery is a clinical subset of instruments originally developed by the Office of Military Performance Assessment Technology," said W. Paul Jones, researcher in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "The battery is comprised of a series of cognitive tasks administered and scored with a computer. The current version uses a Windows platform and is now housed at the Center for the Study of Human Operator Performance at the University of Oklahoma." 

This program is new to the Air Force, and Luke is among 17 bases chosen to participate in the ANAM battery. The 17 bases chosen are the ones that deploy the most Airmen in harm's way. 

"A team of contractors came to Luke Thursday and tested 400 Airmen who are the most likely to deploy in the near future," Colonel Chozinski said. 

"ANAM is a simple 20-to-30-minute structured assessment done on a computer to establish a baseline level of function. The plan is to eventually manage the program through Life Skills. Also, anyone who deploys will have current testing metrics within 12 months prior to the deployment." 

ANAM isn't a pass or fail evaluation. It is designed to find changes in brain patterns between pre-and-post deployment, according to Colonel Messelheiser. 

"If a person's baseline scores are below a certain threshold, that person will be evaluated by a provider in the clinic," Colonel Chozinski said. "If scores change significantly after deployment, a more extensive evaluation is done to find the right help for the Airman. This test has been well established in research as a tool used to assess brain injury. Use of this testing information will help us appropriately identify people who need help in recovering from the effects of service in a time of war."