Financial Contribution

INVEST IN THE SCIENCE THAT SAVES LIVES

For sixteen years, this research has been built in clinic rooms, in peer-reviewed literature, and in the lives of patients who came in broken and left whole. What has been missing is the resources to take it to the level that medicine and policy cannot ignore. This is that moment — and this is that ask.

We are raising $20,000,000 to conduct the most comprehensive clinical trial ever designed to investigate the root causes of mild traumatic brain injury. Not to manage the symptoms. To find where they come from, prove it scientifically, and put that proof in the hands of the people who can change the standard of care permanently.

This is not a research project looking for incremental findings. It is a study designed from the ground up to produce results significant enough to reshape DoD clinical guidelines, redirect VA treatment policy, and give the veterans, operators, and athletes who have been living without answers the pathway to recovery they have earned.

Where the Money Goes

This study costs what it costs because it is designed to be impossible to dismiss. Every dollar is allocated toward the scientific infrastructure required to produce findings that survive the scrutiny of military medical leadership, peer review, and federal policy review simultaneously.

Diagnostic Imaging is the largest single cost category and the backbone of the study's scientific credibility. Every one of the 400 participants receives a comprehensive multi-modal imaging workup at four timepoints — baseline, thirty days, ninety days, and six months. This includes MRI with specialized thin-slice craniocervical junction views, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Susceptibility Weighted Imaging, SPECT brain imaging through Amen Clinics, quantitative EEG, and Cone Beam CT. This level of imaging depth is what allows the study to map symptoms to their structural and metabolic origins with precision — and it is what separates this trial from everything that has come before it.

Direct Participant Treatment covers the full cost of care for all 400 enrolled veterans, operators, and athletes across all three treatment arms — hyperbaric oxygen therapy, qEEG-guided photobiomodulation, and Advanced Orthogonal upper cervical care — at no cost to participants.

Research Personnel funds the qualified research staff required to ensure that every data point collected, every protocol followed, and every outcome measured meets the standards necessary for publication in peer-reviewed journals and adoption into military medical policy.

Participant Travel and Support covers transportation and logistical support for veterans accessing specialized SPECT imaging at Amen Clinics, ensuring that cost and distance never become barriers to participation.

Study Administration and Compliance covers IRB oversight, regulatory compliance, data management systems, and the full publication and dissemination process.

Giving Levels

We believe that every contribution to this mission deserves recognition — and that the organizations and individuals who make this study possible should be acknowledged in a way that reflects the significance of what they have done.

Champions for our Heroes — $1,000,000 and above. 

This is the highest level of partnership we offer — reserved for those whose investment makes the entire mission possible. As a Champion of Our Heroes, your name or organization will be featured prominently on this website, named as Lead Funder in all published study materials, and acknowledged in all peer-reviewed journal submissions and conference presentations. You will receive a direct ongoing relationship with Dr. Slininger and the research team, including periodic progress calls throughout the life of the study. You will be invited to visit the clinical research sites, receive an advance copy of all findings before public release, and be personally invited to the final results presentation. Your contribution will also be acknowledged in any Department of Defense or VA policy briefings that stem from this research..

Research FOUNDER — $500,000 to $999,999. 

Research Founders are the scientific backbone of this study. Your name or organization will be named as a Research Founder in all published study materials, peer-reviewed journal submissions, and conference presentations, and recognized on this website. You will receive quarterly progress updates directly from the research team, an advance copy of study findings before public release, and a personal invitation to the final results presentation and dissemination event.

Frontline Funders — $200,000 to $499,999 

Frontline Funders are essential contributors who make the day-to-day execution of this research possible. Your name or organization will be recognized as a supporting funder in published study materials and on this website. You will receive semi-annual progress updates from the research team and a personal invitation to the final results presentation.

Sponsor a Veteran — $5,000 and above

This level is built around a simple and powerful idea: your contribution directly funds a veteran's full participation in this research. The total study cost per veteran is approximately $57,500. At $5,000 per donor, a group of roughly 12 individuals together fully sponsors one veteran through the entire study. Donors at this level are recognized on this website as veteran sponsors. Groups of donors who together sponsor a single veteran are listed collectively — and the veteran they sponsor may one day reach out personally to say thank you.* Every dollar at this level has a direct human being on the other end of it.

Community Contributor — Any amount. 

Your contribution will be recognized in study acknowledgments and you will receive full access to all published findings when released. Every dollar moves this mission forward — and every contributor is part of what makes it possible.