AFRL, Kettering Medical Center to share equipment
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
KETTERING — The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will share state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment with Kettering Medical Center in an agreement between Kettering Health Network and AFRL's Human Effectiveness Directorate, officials said.
Siemens Medical Solutions USA will support the collaboration by making KMC a research site for its latest medical imaging technology, and the University of Dayton Research Institute will support it with physicists and other experts.
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The four institutions are working together on a human effectiveness study aimed at predicting the effects of fatigue and identifying those people who are least likely to suffer negative effects from sleep deprivation. In addition, they will work to advance imaging techniques and seek individualized diagnostic and treatment options for people in poor health.
"This collaboration is an example of how the Dayton region is a leader in the Midwest for human sciences and health care," said JP Nauseef, CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition. "People don't have to go to Mayo or to the Cleveland Clinic to get the best possible diagnostics and high tech equipment. It's right here in the Dayton region."
"This is an excellent example of our shared efforts to build a partnership between Ohio and the Air Force, for the betterment of both," said Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering.
Other collaborators, UDRI and Qbase, a locally-based data mining company, will be participating in this initiative in the future. Personnel and equipment are expected to be in place by approximately June.
"This agreement means that our community will benefit from the latest technology from Siemens, one of the world's top producers of sophisticated medical devices," said Gary Lustgarten, KHN vice president for corporate development. "This is extremely exciting news for the future of health care and business in Dayton."
Col. Patricia A. Reilly, chief of the Biosciences and Protection Division of AFRL's Human Effectiveness Directorate, said this research will have implications that go well beyond military uses. "There have been many examples of military technology developed locally that transferred to other applications of direct benefit to civilians," Reilly said. "This counter-fatigue study can be a breakthrough for a wide range of the population – from truck drivers to commercial airline pilots to physicians."
AFRL's fatigue countermeasures expert, Dr. J. Lynn Caldwell, has relocated to the Dayton area from Texas to help lead this unique research opportunity at the Kettering Medical Center laboratory.
Physicists and support staff will be employed to spearhead this collaborative effort and will work out of the Wallace-Kettering Neuroscience Institute on the KMC campus. The project could lead to additional jobs within Kettering, but better productivity and safety are expected to be the primary benefits, officials said.
"KHN has deep roots in technology transfer and innovation in general, but this is perhaps the most significant advancement we have ever made," said Kettering Health Network CEO Frank Perez. "Utilizing the brain trust of AFRL and the latest technology from Siemens, we are uniquely positioned to advance medical imaging for community-focused health care."
