Researchers developing AR software for battlefield care

In an effort to maximize the U.S. Army medic's potential and bring an alternative for medical imaging to the battlefield,  U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) scientists are partnering with medics from the Farrelly Health Clinic, Fort Riley, Kansas, and the Texas Army National Guard to develop Augmented Reality (AR) surgical visualization software that would allow medics to look at a patient's internal anatomy, as if they had X-ray vision.

U.S. Army medics who stabilize severely injured warfighterson the frontlines know there is nothing more critical than providing thosewarfighters the safest, most efficient treatment possible, especially duringthe "golden hour," or the first 60 minutes when the odds of survivalare greatest.

"Much like a CT scan in a hospital, medics could usethis AR surgical visualization software on the battlefield to properly map outan injured warfighter's internal anatomy, particularly when a warfighter isdeeply wounded," said Dr. Gary Zientara, the project manager and a USARIEMmathematical modeler. "This visualization tool could help medics evaluateinjured warfighters more effectively and efficiently, helping them to providewarfighters safe, optimal treatment."

The medics providing their expertise, Cpt. Brandon Cariusfrom Farrelly and Maj. Andrew Fisher from the National Guard, added thatmilitary medic training centers could also use the software as an educationaltool to help new medics learn how to perform medical procedures.

"Currently, many medics' understanding of the workingsof the human body are synthesized through texts, instruction and possiblycadaver labs," Carius said. "While these – and the limitedavailability of clinical experience – may provide substantial insight forlearning, it may be difficult to maintain consistent exposure on all bodysystems to ensure medical proficiency.

"This technology would be invaluable to the ongoingeducation of military medics and medical providers at all levels. It wouldincrease the availability of fully-sized human models that could be scaled andformatted to tailor medical instruction for specific body systems andpathologic concerns."

Zientara added that the AR surgical visualization softwarewould be able to display a warfighter's medical imaging information on an ARdevice with the use of full-body, complete anatomy avatars.

USARIEM has spent the past few years developing softwarethat would create individualized avatars of warfighters for various militaryuses. Additionally, The Defense Health Agency awarded three Small BusinessInnovation Research, or SBIR, Phase I contracts this year to support thiseffort, titled "Augmented Reality Surgical Visualization Tool for CombatCasualty Care," to three small businesses that specialize in engineeringand developing AR technologies. The three companies include Augmntr Inc. fromNevada City, California; Computational Fluid Dynamics Research Corp. fromHuntsville, Alabama; and Nakamir from Palo Alto, California.

The SBIR program is a highly competitive program thatencourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research and researchand development concepts that have the potential for commercialization.

With the use of virtual X-ray images, the software could beused to produce avatars that would best model an individual's body compositionand internal anatomy, regardless of gender, shape or size.

"The AR surgical visualization software would overlayan individualized, 3-D avatar of the warfighter's internal anatomy on thewarfighter's body," Zientara said. "When wearing AR goggles, forexample, this medical information would be projected on the lens. The intentionis to aid the medic in visualizing blood vessels and anatomy deep below thebody's surface while also keeping an eye on the patient."

According to Zientara, a warfighter's avatar could becomputed from a simple body scan, if acquired during basic training, incombination with a gender-specific, standard anatomy model. However, awarfighter's avatar could also be updated with information from a dual-energyX-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, scan, which would increase the medical fidelityof a person's avatar. He added that each warfighter could easily carry theiravatar information on their person with either a fingernail-sized micro-SD chipor another storage device.

"Care for wounded warfighters in austere and remote settings makes medical knowledge, skills and efficiency of the military medic paramount, especially when there are limited medical resources," Zientara said. "AR surgical visualization software is one example that demonstrates how we are working to maximize human potential and ensure maximal resources and state-of-the-art medical technology are available on the battlefield."

Source: US Army