Robotic Standoff Neck and Spinal Injury Assessment Device

Our long-term objective of this project is to develop an integrated system that is capable of categorizing and managing injured combatants in the field of combat trauma care. In this STTR, however, we focus on developing suitable imaging systems that can triage the combatants who are salvageable, assess their immediate potential head and spine injury and determine those with unstable spine injuries requiring special stabilization during battlefield rescue. A robotic-based intelligent system will also be employed to deliver the medical care. In this STTR project, the research team at the ISIS Center Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC), American GNC Corporation (AGNC), and Imperium Inc. would like to propose methods of using a special type of ultrasound system and an infra-red imaging device to judge spine alignment and diagnose potential spine injury. GUMC researchers have been performing various research in the fields of advanced medical imaging and image-guided intervention. AGNC has a wide range of expertise in the automation of robotic intelligence and will be responsible for the modification of the robotic arm and integration of the imaging device systems and intelligent communications for combat casualty care. Imperium has been specializing on CMOS-based ultrasound sensors and ultrasound imaging system development. Imperium plans to develop a multi-angle projection-reflection C-mode system for imaging the spine in this project. In this Phase I program, we will perform a feasibility study by testing two main devices potentially suitable for imaging injured spine in the battle field. We will also perform simulation studies on operation of the image devices, image acquisition, and network communications using the AGNC Coremicro® Robot.