December 4, 2024

Since FY19, the Combat Readiness – Medical Research Program from the CDMRP managed $55 million in congressional appropriations. The CRRP funds research to advance solutions to quickly address life-threatening injuries and threats with combat-ready treatments for Service Members in battlefield environments.

CRRP Funded Research – CRED, a novel combat-ready exposure device

In FY19, the CRRP funded a Rapid Development and Translational Research Award to Kathryn Taylor, Sc.D., and her team at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, to develop a portable combat-ready exposure device.

Referred to as CRED, the device can measure any level of heavy metal quantities within the previous 6 months through a non-invasive sample from fingernails or toenails.

As part of the study funded by the CRRP, the team enrolled 25 volunteer, active-duty Soldiers and tested the CRED prototype to measure quantities of lead, mercury, manganese, copper and tungsten from toenails, comparing those results against quantities identified from a participant finger-prick blood sample as a way to validate the device.

Possible Implications of Heavy Metal Exposure

Researchers associate acute exposure to toxic levels of heavy metals with cognitive impairment and organ damage.

Chronic heavy metal exposure can increase the risk of certain cancers and muscular and neurological degenerative diseases.

About the Principal Investigator of the CRED

Kathryn M. Taylor, Sc.D., is the Director of Soldier Performance, Health, and Readiness Database at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. Taylor’s current research focuses on measuring the impact of military-relevant occupational risk factors for neuropsychological health. She also evaluates how these health outcomes impact military readiness in the long term.

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