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Eye injury and visual dysfunction resulting from military exposure affect a large number of Service Members and Veterans. Between 2000 and 2017, there were more than 275,000 eye injuries in the U.S. Armed Services, more than 6,000 of which were categorized as high risk of blindness.¹ In addition, through the third quarter of 2023, more than 490,000 Service Members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI),² which can have significant impact on vision even when there is no injury to the eye.

The Vision Research Program (VRP) is the nation's primary funder of vision injury research. Congress established the VRP in fiscal year 2009 (FY09) to "target the various causes, effects and treatment of vision injury" as related to military exposure. The VRP was administered by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center from FY09 to FY12 and was transitioned to the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) for administration starting with the FY13 program cycle.

The VRP challenges the scientific community to design innovative research that will significantly advance the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and/or treatment of eye injury or visual dysfunction associated with military exposure and research that will enable the delivery of care in the military operational environment.

Resources for Investigators:

• A Beginner's Guide to Army Healthcare System
• Joint Health Services Publication JP 4-02
• Blast Term Dictionary and Guidance Documents for Blast Injury Research
• A Primer for Conducting DOD Funded Human Research with Military Populations
• Defense Health Agency Strategic Research Plan: Sensory Systems