A thousand American soldiers in Afghanistan will start testing the Soldier Body Unit next month. It’s a sensor system designed to detect and record the effects of explosions on the human body. The idea is to measure those effects, particularly in the event of concussions or other brain injuries, so that medical care after the explosion can be improved and so that more data can be provided for soldiers who may have had similar experiences but were not wearing a suit. It’s also meant to serve an advisory role in deciding whether a soldier should be deployed for another tour of duty or if the injury is too severe and sustained.

It’s pretty similar to technology that we’ve been hearing about for some time with football players and sensors built into their helmets. In those cases, the data would be used to decide how to improve padding and whether those players could get back on the field.