SMART for TBI Act

The SMART for TBI Act would require the Secretary of Defense to create a dedicated working group to develop a strategy for treating traumatic brain injuries (TBI) using digital health technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). The working group would include military personnel, civilian DoD staff, and non-government experts with expertise in TBI clinical care, biomedical informatics, engineering, or implementation science. The resulting strategy must identify gaps in current TBI treatment that could be addressed with AI and digital health tools, assess existing research and acquisition efforts (including commercial off-the-shelf solutions), and offer recommendations and an investment plan to advance these technologies to the point of field readiness. A briefing on the strategy would be submitted to congressional defense committees no later than September 30, 2026. In short, the bill directs DoD to systematically map how digital health tech and AI could improve TBI treatment, determine what’s needed to move these tools into use, and report back to Congress with a concrete plan and timelines.