MedNet: Consortium

An increasingly common military medical need is the need for in-the-field acquisition of symptomatology, differential diagnosis of diseases potentially previously unseen by the medical professional, and identification of symptoms to the population at large. This need suggests a combination of intelligent diagnostic decision aids and knowledge gathering agents overlaid onto a highly flexible physiologic sensor and advanced connectivity infrastructure accessible by cognitively overloaded or untrained users. This Phase I proposal describes work to research, design, and simulate a conceptual approach to creating the MedNet: a deployable network of medical intelligence gathering and diagnostic assistance in the field. The following specific technical objectives will be pursued in Phase I: (a) define technical requirements for MedNet (b) research and design framework and interfaces for creating MedNet; (c) construct MedNet Architecture Specification; (d) leverage existing work to demonstrate feasibility of approach; and (e) report on Phase I activities, results, conclusions, and recommendations for Phase II in final report.