Army Approves First Female Trauma Care Simulator

Operative Experience (OEI)’s Prolonged Casualty Care (PCCS Pro) Female simulator for trauma care training recently passed operational testing and has been accredited and authorized for procurement by the U.S. Army. The Army’s operational testing program conducts independent operational tests of new and emerging technologies that will improve a soldier’s capabilities on the modern-day battlefield.

The PCCS Pro Female is the first and only female trauma care simulator to have been accredited by the Army.

The operational tests were carried out by combat medics from III Armored Corps and the U.S Army Medical Test and Evaluation Activity agency at Fort Cavazos Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC). One of the largest centers of its kind in the country, Fort Cavazos provides the necessary support structure of combat medics, instructor operators, and an environment suitable for facilitating effective testing.

The development of the PCCS Pro Female simulator is the result of a six-year collaboration with the U.S. Army, which began when Operative Experience was selected by the Army’s Program Executive Office Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) to receive a $3.6M Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. The grant, in addition to a significant R&D investment by the company, was specifically designed to support the development of a high-fidelity female patient simulator for comprehensive point of injury through prolonged field care training.

“Data has shown that female casualties have a higher rate of mortality than their male counterparts due to a variety of causes, including hesitancy of males properly assessing fatal wounds, as well as cultural or psychological factors,” said Paul Bernal, VP Global Sales and Business Development. “The U.S. Army recognized an immediate need for a high-fidelity simulator with realistic female anatomic features to provide medics with life-saving training experience in the treatment of female combat casualties. The PCCS Pro Female is the only female simulator ready to meet that challenge.”

The PCCS Pro Female is a full-body, wireless and autonomous, ruggedized simulator with lifelike soft tissue and skin, real-time tablet control, and over 10+ hours of continuous battery-powered run time for indoor and outdoor environments. The simulator is available in Caucasian, African-American, Asian, and Hispanic skin tones, with interchangeable wound configurations that simulate a variety of polytrauma injuries including IED explosions, blunt trauma, and gunshot wounds.

“The Army has never fielded female trauma simulators before, so having the PCCS Pro Female accredited and ready for training is a huge milestone in ensuring all our Soldiers receive the highest possible medical care,” said Lou Oberndorf, Chairman and CEO of Operative Experience. “Seeing the results of the collaboration and co-investment by OEI and the U.S. Army and being able to put these medical training products in the hands of our brave military men and women is a minimum standard of care that is long overdue and the right thing to do.”

The Army initially plans on procuring PCCS Pro Female simulators for all 23 MSTC centers throughout the US starting in September 2024.