Preliminary Validation of a Readiness-to-Fly Assessment Tool for Use in Naval Aviation

Abstract

Fatigue is the most frequently cited physiological factor contributing to the occurrence of US Naval Aviation Class A flight mishaps. Accordingly, the Naval Safety Center (NSC) has identified the need for a quickly-administered individualized fatigue assessment tool to determine a pilot or aircrew member's readiness to fly. The Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory conducted validation research on Flight Fit-a series of computer administered cognitive tasks sensitive to fatigue, and PMI FIT 2000-a physiological test of oculometric properties linked to fatigue, for their potential to serve as individualized fatigue detection tools. Performance on both assessments was observed in concordance with performance on a suite of industry standard fatigue-sensitive measures (e.g., the Psychomotor Vigilance Test) at regular intervals over 25 hours of continual wakefulness in naval aviators. Results indicate significant group and individual differences related to fatigue for several aspects of both measures, and suggest that with appropriate adjustments, both Flight Fit and PMI FIT 2000 could serve as valid real-time readiness-to-fly assessment tools in Naval Aviation squadrons. Follow-on studies to determine the exact nature of these adjustments and usability of the tools in their current form are discussed.

The Use of Commercial Flight Simulation Software as a Psychometrically Sound, Ecologically Valid Measure of Fatigued Performance

“…(Participants completed other measures not relevant to this analysis as part of the larger study. Full details are reported in Chandler et al, 2010).…”

“…This initially surprising pattern for a gold-standard task is due to unusually high, yet stable, inter-individual variability in the measure. In the case of the PVT, consistent, trait-like inter-individual variability has been previously documented Chandler et al, 2010). As a result, traditional Pearson product moment correlation only captures part of the measure's true relation with itself across time and between individuals, treating all error variance as the same.…”

Behavioural Curves Analysis Using Near-Infrared-Iris Image Sequences

“…In this section, we analyse some of these products highlighting the pros and cons of each one. Some relevant devices are: PMI FIT2000, Sobereye, Optalert [35]. The Alertplus, Alermeter [35], [36].…”

“…Some relevant devices are: PMI FIT2000, Sobereye, Optalert [35]. The Alertplus, Alermeter [35], [36]. Jawbone, Fitbit [37]- [41].The Smartcap [42]- [44], among others.…”

Fatigue in the military: towards a fatigue detection test based on the saccadic velocity

“…Most studies with military populations have investigated sleepiness caused by sleep deprivation. All of them, after implementing total or partial sleep deprivation protocols (ranging from 16 h to 60 h), pointed out to a clear decrement in SV (Caldwell et al 2004a, 2004b, Chandler et al 2010, Hirvonen et al 2010, Chandler 2011, Sievert et al 2011, Arnold et al 2013, Tong et al 2014. Studies focused on the effects of fatigue caused by more or less prolonged military operations tasks on SV are scarce and not conclusive.…”