What is the WIAMan in Grunt?

In Grunt, Mary Roach discusses the WIAMan or Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin. This is a project that was developed in the Army Research Laboratory. The person leading the development team is Nicole Brockhoff, who has a degree in biodefense and was the youngest ever recipient of the Meritorious Civilian Service Award. The Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin was developed to help medical researchers study some of the most common injuries that soldiers encounter. One such injury is “deck-slap,” which is when a soldier’s heel is hit hard, often from the detonation of an explosive device below their feet. When a soldier’s heels are injured in this way, it can cause multiple problems in their feet, legs, and spine. The WIAMan is extremely realistic and can extensively simulate the injuries that a real person would sustain in a given situation. For example, the WIAMan can show researchers how an explosion might affect the individual tendons in a soldier’s leg. Obviously this is useful information for treating wounded soldiers, but this information is also extremely helpful for the people who design protective gear, as it shows them exactly how the body is impacted in certain situations. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get funding for special technology like the WIAMan, especially when similar research might be done with cadavers.