Military family members returning from deployments often face trauma-related issues, including those associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Military traumatic injuries are medically complex, requiring long-term rehabilitation, especially for soldiers with limb injuries. The use of a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) could directly address these issues, improving the quality of life of the injured and reducing the impact of disability.
PTSD is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that can severely interfere with normal functioning. Diagnosis is complex due to the overlap of symptoms with other pathologies. The VETERE project aims to ensure the well-being of returning soldiers by developing a comprehensive method for the diagnosis and objective assessment of the psychophysical state, which may be affected by PTSD or neuromotor deficits. The approach uses advanced technologies such as EEG, intracranial navigation via nTMS and BCI. The project is divided into two phases of 12 months each. In Phase 1, a software was developed to analyze the EEG and detect the presence of PTSD. In addition, an intracranial neuro-navigation system for TMS stimulation was created. In Phase 2, the effectiveness of the systems developed in the previous phase will be tested, with the aim of perfecting an innovative system that allows optimal TMS stimulation sessions, integrating a database with data from patients with PTSD.
This research was funded by the Italian Ministry of Defense as part of the research projects of the National Military Research Plan (PNRM).
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