Dynamic Digital and Tactile Simulations of Combat-Related Injuries

Innovative Design Labs (IDL) is answering the call to create the technologies requested in topic “A254-029: Predictive Simulation of Injury Progression”. Our Phase I project will prototype and evaluate the feasibility of three novel injury progression solutions. Each solution will leverage both the traditional advantages of physical moulage technologies and the capabilities of digital media for display of injury changes over time, consequences of interventions, and the internal anatomy and physiology (A&P) processes beneath visible injuries. Significance: Moulage and manikin products currently used by the Army lack the ability for injuries to visually change based on treatments performed, progression over time, and depict what is occurring under the visible injury. Solution: By incorporating digital display technologies with physical simulated injury structures, a trainee can evaluate digital representations of an initial injury, perform treatments, gauge the effectiveness of how the injury would be expected to progress (or regress) over the course of time, all in a matter of minutes as opposed to hours.  Our aims are to: 1) Develop common control software, user interfaces, and medical assets, 2) prototype three display technology methods, and 3) Perform prototype testing and evaluation. The suitability of the solutions will be determined by Army stakeholders, who will assess the TRL 4 produced prototypes at the end of Phase I for potential continued development in Phase II.