The Pentagon wants to improve medical care for wounded military dogs

With a flurry of new research projects, the Pentagon is exploring multiple ways of improving medical care for wounded military dogs.

These efforts include better assessment of canine traumatic brain injury, protecting dogs against toxic chemicals, performing transfusions on bleeding dogs and even finding common medical treatments for both humans and dogs. The new initiatives also come amid reports of poor health conditions for dogs in military base kennels.

The latest round of DoD Small Business Innovation Research solicitations included four canine health projects. Three came from the Defense Health Agency and the fourth from DARPA. The deadline for all of them is June 3.

One DHA solicitation addresses widespread TBI among military dogs who perform tasks such as detecting explosives or guarding bases.

“TBI in the MWD [military working dog] carries an extremely high mortality rate with a prehospital mortality of over 40% for severe TBI cases,” DHA said. “It is estimated that 25% to 40% of all MWD trauma cases are accompanied by TBI, but there is limited data concerning the short- and long-term effects of TBI on the performance and health of the MWD.”

DHA wants to take advantage of previous research into TBI on “rodents, canines, or other large animal models that could be repurposed for the detection and treatment of TBI specifically in MWDs.” The end goal is to develop products to treat TBI that can be certified by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Another DHA project seeks shelf-stable whole blood products for injured dogs.

“Uncontrolled hemorrhage following traumatic injury accounts for over 45% of all MWD battlefield deaths,” the agency said.

The goal is to develop a “stable canine whole blood product and/or substitute (i.e. hemoglobin or polymer oxygen carriers),” with a shelf life of more than three years, which can also survive harsh temperatures in the field.

Companies should indicate how their solutions would be effective “for the acute phase of care through 72 hours for hemorrhage/hemorrhagic shock,” the solicitation reads.

The third DHA initiative seeks ways of decontaminating military dogs who have been exposed to toxic industrial chemicals and materials.

“Although there are useful treatment options for external decontamination, there are few treatment options for toxic exposures that have been absorbed into the body of the MWD,” DHA noted.

Potential solutions include kits “containing indicators or detectors of TIC/TIM exposure with easily identifiable injectable treatments for the identified contaminant (indicator/detector) and/or hemoperfusion systems and filters that can be used to remove contaminants from the blood (systemic).”

DARPA’s “Broadening Availability of Regimens for K-9s” — otherwise known as BARK — seeks medical treatments that work on both dogs and humans.

“Medical technologies that are interoperable and compatible across humans and dogs can address unmet needs of valuable MWDs while lessening the burden on medics, logisticians, and other contributors to force health protection,” the DARPA solicitation stated.

As examples, DARPA listed six areas of potential multispecies medicine. These include filters to remove antigens from plasma that the patient’s body would reject, a universal synthetic plasma for transfusions and sensors to monitor temperature, blood pressure and other physiological readings.

DARPA also envisions splints, tourniquets and other medical devices that can be applied to people and canines.

Other possibilities include common autoinjectors and other ways to deliver medicine, and common personal protective gear to shield dogs and humans from chemical weapons.

All four solicitations suggest that these solutions would benefit veterinary care in the civilian world. They also emphasize that testing will use simulated — rather than real — dogs.