205 - Respiratory Clues in the Cloud: Tech-Driven Evaluation of Military Exposures

Session Description: This session presents work from the VA’s Post-Deployment Cardiopulmonary Evaluation Network (PDCEN), a national initiative to improve care for Veterans with deployment-related respiratory illness. Attendees will learn how PDCEN integrates clinical expertise, research, and technology to standardize evaluations and uncover exposure-related disease. Presenters will share findings from clinical assessments and demonstrate how tools like REDCap, Microsoft Teams, and PowerBI support data visualization and collaboration across sites. The session will also explore how quantitative chest CT imaging may offer non-invasive strategies to detect respiratory effects from airborne hazards, such as burn pit exposure.

Educational Gaps: Physicians may overlook specialized tools for assessing deployment-related respiratory illness. This session teaches when and how to use imaging and data visualization strategies to better evaluate dyspnea and exposure-related diseases in military deployers.

Is this session being sponsored by an ACOEM Section or Component?: The Federal/Military Section is endorsing this session.

Has this session previously been presented?: In 2023, our group presented on the activities of the PDCEN, which was first launched in 2020. That session focused on what we do in PDCEN and gave examples of how we use tools to diagnose conditions in PDCEN patients that are also used in traditional occupational medicine settings. This session will focus more on how we leverage tech systems to foster better understanding of types of diseases we are seeing in this airborne hazards-exposed population, and focus on an area of successful research in understanding the elusive condition of small airways disease.

The AOHC 2026 theme is Healthy workers. Healthy world: This session, Respiratory Clues in the Cloud: Tech-Driven Evaluation of Military Exposures, directly supports the AOHC 2026 theme by advancing the health of a vital and often vulnerable workforce—military Veterans. Through the VA’s Post-Deployment Cardiopulmonary Evaluation Network (PDCEN), the session showcases how clinical expertise, research, and technology converge to improve diagnosis and care for deployment-related respiratory illnesses. By leveraging tools like REDCap, Microsoft Teams, and PowerBI, PDCEN enables standardized data collection, visualization, and collaboration across regional sites, enhancing both individual and population-level health outcomes. The inclusion of quantitative chest CT imaging offers a non-invasive, innovative approach to detecting small airways disease, often missed by conventional methods. These strategies not only improve care for Veterans but also serve as scalable models for occupational health systems worldwide. In addressing educational gaps and promoting evidence-based practices, the session empowers clinicians to better evaluate and manage exposure-related disease—contributing to healthier workers and, ultimately, a healthier world.