Survitec standardises Pre-hospital Care System modules

Survitec has standardised its portfolio of battlefieldcasualty sustainment modules to reduce the number of fatalities sustained frominjuries that are generally considered to have been treatable.

Adopting an approach implemented by the U.S. military,Survitec has reconfigured its 29 medical modules, including the FC-1, MC-1,FC-2, FC-4, FC-4WP, FC-5WP and CS-2 Pre-hospital Care Systems (PCS), to ensurethat all personnel, irrespective of the level of training, can administereffective treatment with confidence.

Kevin Wheeler, group medical director, Survitec, said: “Eachmodule has been re-designed by our specialist team of SOF medics and rescueprofessionals to maximise user interface, speed of care and mobility ofequipment.”

The optimised PCS delivers modular capabilities for several different trauma scenariosincluding extraction, field mobility, tactical field care, tactical evacuationcare, sustainment care, mass casualty care, far forward environments, CBRNenvironments and naval operations.

A key development is that all components have beenstandardised with a comprehensive suite of medical equipment placed in order ofthe severity of the possible injury sustained.

“Entry level-personnel with limited medical knowledge canquickly administer the care relevant to the injury,” said Wheeler. “Thisprovides all combat personnel with full life-saving capability, from in-fieldpatient access to hand-over at the hospital.”

Wheeler said: “Supply chains in the military often take along time and can sometimes result in the armed forces being behind the curvein terms of access to new technologies and equipment. One of the advantages ofthe Pre-hospital Care System modules is that forces can get access to standardized,up-to-date equipment, which helps bridge the gap between older equipment andnewer technologies. With standardised components it is also easier and quickerto replenish spent consumables.”

The principle behind Survitec’s medical modules is in linewith the U.S. Special Armed Forces Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)programme, introduced in the mid-1990s to reduce the amount of preventabledeaths on the battlefield.

Protective Casing

Another aspect of Survitec’s care package optimisation hasbeen the introduction of a protective casing for the Philips Lumify handheldultrasound system, which is included in the PCM to help diagnose and treatcasualties.

Responding to requests from the Norwegian military, Survitecand Royal Philips subsidiary Remote Diagnostic Technologies (RDT) pooled theirresources to develop a shield capable of protecting the critical equipment in acombat scenario. The Norwegian armed forces use Tempus Pro patient monitorsystem as standard across all its forces and invited the companies to develop acase to protect it on the battlefield.

Following the collaboration, all Philips Lumify ultra sounddevices are now supplied with a robust casing inside a man packable medicalmodule (a backpack that can be carried by one man). It now features as part ofits PCS modules.

Norway currently uses Survitec PCS Modules across all itsarmed forces and the product is also on trial with special forces in othercountries.