The DRDC has developed unique research facilities to replicate the effect of blasts at different levels.
In the first days of Afghanistan, when everyone realized that the IEDs, the improvised explosive devices, were creating more damage than we were hoping they would create, we reallocated our workforce, reshaped our workforce, to focus on the problem of, number one, vehicle protection: can we improve the armour on those vehicles to reduce on the outside shell the damage created by IEDs?
We've also focused a good number of people on the inside of the vehicle, on the harnesses, the seats, the suspension of those seats. This was also to reduce the impact of IEDs on vehicles, thereby reducing injuries to the military members.
We've worked as well on personal protection equipment, helmets, pelvic protection, again with a view to reducing injuries to begin with.
We've also worked in Suffield at a facility where we can replicate some of the blasts, the effects of blasts. We're also looking all the way down to the cellular level and what happens when organisms and cells are exposed to blasts. We're trying to understand the basic physiological effects of a blast wave on cells, trying to understand the origins of the trauma that we see in our military members who have been exposed to blasts.
We are also working with academic organizations to better understand the linkages between blast injuries and PTSD, mental health issues. We're looking for markers for better diagnostics to begin with. If we can diagnose early the effects of blasts, we can perhaps better treat or prevent the development of deeper symptoms in members who have been affected. We're looking at, and I will brag a little bit here, cutting-edge tools to detect early signs of trauma. We're using genomic tools, looking at DNA and metabolites in cells, to see if we can identify early signs of problems developing.
I mentioned in my opening remarks the work we do with CIHR, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The CIHR is the largest organization that funds medical research in Canada. We're leveraging the investments made by the Canadian government through CIHR across all universities to bring the best people we can possibly find in Canada to work on military problems like these.
We're also working with NATO and what we call TTCP, The Technical Cooperation Program. The TTCP is a community made up of the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. All are facing the same issues we are facing, or very similar issues. The U.S. investment is much larger than any of the other four partners in that consortium. We're leveraging a huge investment made in the U.S. We contribute in niche areas. We have access to knowledge that would be impossible to recreate in Canada, because of the size of the investment.