Industry asked for combination of drugs and near-infrared light to keep sleep-deprived warfighters alert
ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military researchers are asking industry to develop a combination of drugs and electro-optical devices to help sleep-deprived warfighters stay alert without side-effects like anxiety, irritability, or euphoria.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., issued a solicitation Thursday (DARPA-PS-24-17) for the initial phase-zero portion of the Alert WARfighter Enablement (AWARE) project.
AWARE seeks to develop a combination of drugs and wearable devices that emit near-infrared light in the 750-to-900-nanometer bands to increase alertness non-invasively following sleep loss in humans, without negative side effects.
Today's approaches for maintaining alertness following sleep loss include drugs like caffeine, and for U.S. military personnel undergoing long-duration training or missions, prescription stimulants like modafinil or dextroamphetamine.
Although dextroamphetamine is shown to be superior modafinil or caffeine at helping boost vigilance following sleep loss, it also can cause irritability, as well as and euphoria, which can lead to addiction.
Instead, AWARE seeks to develop a photoswitchable version of dextroamphetamine that is inactive except in the presence of near-infrared light, which activates it. Combining a photoswitchable drug and a near-infrared-emitting light could activate regions of the prefrontal cortex responsible for executive function, working memory, and decision making, while avoiding deep brain structures such as the amygdala and striatum, which have been implicated in mood alterations and euphoria.
Researchers want to develop AWARE technology with temporal selectivity to enable reversible activation of the drug precisely when needed. Moreover, temporal arrangement of near-infrared light pulses may titrate the drug dose over time to reduce the potential for addiction. Importantly, the temporal selectivity of switching the drug from an active to inactive state to make restorative sleep possible.
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The combination of ingested photoswitchable drug and a near-infrared-emitting device selectively will activate neural pathways responsible for executive function, working memory, and decision making, to help keep fatigued warfighters alert wherever and whenever drug and light are present simultaneously.
The AWARE program will have three phases over three years, and have two technical areas: developing photoswitchable dextroamphetamine (“PhotoDex”) molecules; and developing wearable transducers that emit near-infrared light.
A 15-month phase-zero; a nine-month phase two; and a 12-month phase three. AWARE phase zero has two technical areas -- one to develop and test a photoswitchable version of dextroamphetamine (“PhotoDex”) that can be reversibly activated by near-infrared light; and the other to develop near-infrared-emitting devices that non-invasively can go as deep as 1.5 centimeters with a resolution of 1 cubic millimeter.
Phase-one calls for combined TA1 and TA2 teams to perform behavioral assays in rodent models. Phase-two will conduct preclinical safety studies in preparation for human studies, integrate the near-infrared device for human use, and pursue regulatory approvals.
Companies interested should email abstracts no later than 12 July 2024 to DARPA at [email protected]. Those submitting promising abstracts will be invited to give oral presentations from 31 July to 2 Aug. 2024.
Email questions or concerns to DARPA at [email protected]. More information is online at https://sam.gov/opp/1d4409031eea4e2994dadd9c96a9fea8/view.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
