Military Medicine Archives

BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator Shows Off Veins When The Lights Are Out

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 8, 2012 •

BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans Illuminator BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans illuminator Shows Off Veins When The Lights Are OutLet’s just say that you’re a medic out there “in the field” in the middle of the night, with bad guys all over the surrounding hill tops, and they just shot one of your buddies.  You managed to move the injured soldier to a safer location, and are attempting to setup an IV, but you certainly don’t want to turn on the flashlight with enemy snipers scanning every inch of the landscape.

That’s where the BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator may be of help, as it shines infrared light through the body part where you’re trying to set the IV, illuminating the internal anatomy for your night vision goggles to see as bright as day.

BattleView Infrared closeup BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans illuminator Shows Off Veins When The Lights Are OutFrom the product page:

The device incorporates four encapsulated IR LED’s that bond with the iron in the venous blood travelling back to the heart, effectively fluorescing the veins.  This makes target veins extremely easy to spot, allowing IV’s to be inserted as if under normal lighting conditions.

BattleView © has a fantastic power to size ratio, capable of shining right through several inches of tissue.  It can be used on the upper appendages to locate commonly targeted veins (Cephalic and Dorsal Venous) in the hand and wrist.  It can even reveal the veins in the medial part of the lower arm (Median Anti-Brachial and Cephalic).  In areas of higher muscular density, BattleView © can be rotated to the same side as the infiltration site to trans-illuminate the superficial target veins.  The same can be done on the lower appendages when targeting common structures like the Saphenous Vein.

BattleView © is one of the most innovative products developed for the tactical medicine community.  Its lightweight foam and neoprene construction make it easily packable in a medic’s kit and it deploys in seconds.  Simply run the patient’s appendage through the shock cord retaining band with the foam pad against the skin and click the on/off button.  BattleView © is powered by a single 3-volt CR123A lithium battery.  The LED’s operate in the near-infrared spectrum.  So, while they mainly produce IR light visible only through night vision goggles, they also emit a faint red glow that is visible to the naked eye.  The red glow can only be seen from a few feet away and is used for checking power status without NVG aid.  The IR emission is very strong, allowing BattleView © to be used as an IR Beacon or area light as well.  In addition, the unit also produces heat when powered on.  The heat lets it be used as a thermal beacon.  Because the device produces heat, though; users should take caution in leaving it on a patient for too long.

Product page: BattleView Infrared Vascular Trans-illuminator

(hat tip: Endo Blog)

etc. / Military Medicine

Operating Rooms on Wheels Help Hospitals Renovate, Offer Emergency Relief When Needed

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 6, 2012
Operating Rooms on Wheels Help Hospitals Renovate, Offer Emergency Relief When Needed

What does a hospital do when it needs to conduct major renovations while continuing to be able to conduct surgeries? Turns out one company makes mobile surgery trucks that offer a complete surgical theater and can be setup in an hour by just a couple of people.

The Miami VA Medical Center is actually using five of these Mobile Surgical Units from MMIC (Mobile Medical International Corporation) to continue operating on patients without missing a beat.  Of course, these are also useful in disaster relief and for military operations.

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Military Medicine / Plastic Surgery

Biomask Improves Facial Burn Treatment Results For Soldiers

by Scott Jung on Feb 6, 2012
Biomask Improves Facial Burn Treatment Results For Soldiers

It’s estimated that 85 percent of injuries to our armed forces in the field cause damage to the extremities or the face. Innovations in regenerative medicine are moving along at an amazing pace, but the common current facial burns treatment typically involves removing damaged areas, followed by skin grafting, which usually leads to disfigurement and the possibility of speech impediments and scarring.

A new project called Biomask, a collaboration between engineers at the University of Texas, Arlington, Northwestern University regenerative medicine specialists, leaders in burn treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center and consultants Army Institute of Surgical Research, seeks to improve burn treatment outcomes with the latest in medical electronics and regenerative medicine.

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Emergency Medicine / Military Medicine

U.S. Army’s New Standard Issue Individual First Aid Kit

by Gene Ostrovsky on Feb 3, 2012
U.S. Army's New Standard Issue Individual First Aid Kit

The U.S. Army has been trying to improve first aid medical response of soldiers in the field, and has developed the latest Individual First Aid Kit, or IFAK, to meet the unique needs that presented themselves in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But the IFAK is bulky and gets in the way of other equipment, so developers at Natick Soldier Systems Center have completely redesigned the pack to store it in the small of the back while making it easily accessible from either side by the soldier injured or another trying to help him.

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Cardiology / Critical Care / Emergency Medicine / Medicine / Military Medicine / Telemedicine

Hidalgo Unveils Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jan 19, 2012
Hidalgo Unveils Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor

Hidalgo out of Cambridge, England has released its new wireless Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor that can continuously record ECG, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and activity levels in patients.  Data is analyzed using special software for PCs, web and mobile devices and can provide real-time results that can be immediately acted upon by clinicians.

Hidalgo’s technology has already been in use by UK’s Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, Addenbrooke’s hospital, and the US Marine Corps in Iraq where wireless, mobile, and easy to use devices save the day.

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Cardiac Surgery / Emergency Medicine / Military Medicine / Surgery / Thoracic Surgery / Vascular Surgery

Nanotech Coating Could Stop Bleeding within Seconds

by Brian Klein on Jan 17, 2012
Nanotech Coating Could Stop Bleeding within Seconds

A nanoscale biological coating could prevent battlefield deaths by halting bleeding nearly instantaneously. Developed by engineers at MIT with the assistance of Ferrosan Medical Devices A/S (Soeborg, Denmark), the coating includes thrombin, a protein involved in blood clotting that has been used clinically for decades for topical hemostasis and wound management. The coating also contains tannic acid, a molecule found in tea.

In a recent study, the researchers developed a biological coating consisting of two alternating layers sprayed onto a material, such as a sponge. The coating forms a film containing a high level of functional thrombin. According to the researchers, sponges coated with the material can be stored stably and carried by soldiers or medical personnel to treat the wounded. Similar sponges could also prove useful in civilian hospitals.

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Emergency Medicine / Military Medicine / Surgery / Vascular Surgery

Ex-Army Physicians Develop Tourniquet to Slow Abdominal Bleeding in Soldiers

by Gavin Corley on Jan 13, 2012
Ex-Army Physicians Develop Tourniquet to Slow Abdominal Bleeding in Soldiers

Two emergency physicians with some impressive war-time credentials, from Georgia Health Sciences University and Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, have developed a device to prevent severe abdominal bleeding in soldiers. According to the inventors, when a soldier is shot in the abdomen severe bleeding occurs due to rupturing of the major vessels in this region, making it a common target for insurgents and a difficult fix for the field medics. Due to the shape and size of the abdomen, it is difficult to apply a tourniquet or effectively apply external compression.

To overcome this problem, the physicians have come up with an inflatable, wedge-shaped bladder embedded into the abdominal aortic tourniquet. The device is wrapped around the body at the navel level,tightened and inflated into the abdomen until it occludes the aorta and stops the bleeding, hopefully increasing the chances of survival.

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Critical Care / Emergency Medicine / in the news... / Military Medicine / Surgery

First App to be Registered as Class I Medical Device in the UK

by Stanley Darma on Jan 12, 2012
First App to be Registered as Class I Medical Device in the UK

A couple of months ago we mentioned Mersey Burns, an app which enables a quick, accurate calculation of the amount of fluids to be administered after burn injuries. Now this software is the first app to have received approval as a medical device from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Mersey Burns was created by Chris Seaton from the University of Manchester: it was developed further within the Mersey Plastic Surgery Unit. The app is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. To calculate the fluid protocol, the app requires input of the areas that are burned and patient information such as weight, height and age. Down below you can see a video on how the app works.

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Emergency Medicine / Medicine / Military Medicine / Neurological Surgery / Neurology

Infrascanner Looks for Bleeding in Brain Injury Victims

by Gene Ostrovsky on Dec 14, 2011
Infrascanner Looks for Bleeding in Brain Injury Victims

Three years following EU clearance, Infrascan out of Philly, PA finally received FDA approval of its Infrascanner Model 1000 device for detecting intracranial hematomas.

The device uses near infrared light to penetrate the skull and detect intracranial blood collections.  By testing different regions on the skull, ER docs can quickly decide whether a follow up CT scan is needed, saving critical time when it really counts.

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