The Reported Incidence of Man-Machine Interface Issues in Army Aviators Using the Aviator's Night Vision System (ANVIS) in a Combat Theatre

Background: Army Aviators rely on the ANVIS for night operations. Human factors literature notes that the ANVIS man-machine interface results in reports of visual and spinal complaints. This is the first study that has looked at these issues in the much harsher combat environment. Last year, the authors reported on the statistically significant (p<0.01) increased complaints of visual discomfort, degraded visual cues, and incidence of static and dynamic visual illusions in the combat environment [Proc. SPIE, Vol. 7688, 76880G (2010)]. In this paper we present the findings regarding increased spinal complaints and other man-machine interface issues found in the combat environment. Methods: A survey was administered to Aircrew deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Results: 82 Aircrew (representing an aggregate of >89,000 flight hours of which >22,000 were with ANVIS) participated. Analysis demonstrated high complaints of almost all levels of back and neck pain. Additionally, the use of body armor and other Aviation Life Support Equipment (ALSE) caused significant ergonomic complaints when used with ANVIS. Conclusions: ANVIS use in a combat environment resulted in higher and different types of reports of spinal symptoms and other man-machine interface issues over what was previously reported. Data from this study may be more operationally relevant than that of the peacetime literature as it is derived from actual combat and not from training flights, and it may have important implications about making combat predictions based on performance in training scenarios. Notably, Aircrew remarked that they could not execute the mission without ANVIS and ALSE and accepted the degraded ergonomic environment.