Graphic Displays to Facilitate Rapid Discovery, Diagnosis and Treatment of Medical Emergencies

This project develops a display for visually representing physiologic data, to enhance a non-physician astronaut's ability to assess, comprehend and rapidly stabilize an injured crewmember's vital signs. With longer duration missions further from earth involving more dangerous activities, the need for more autonomous emergency medical care becomes acute Our prior research has shown that graphic displays improve a caregiver's ability to detect, to identify and to treat critical events. For example, subjects that used graphic displays saw critical events faster than those observing traditional medical displays. Erroneous decisions were significantly reduced, and response times to correct the problem were 33% faster. The plan is to develop an intuitive physiologic display that shortens the time a non-expert needs to stabilize a patient's vital signs following a medical event. Our display will provide a comprehensive view of the injured patient's physiologic state and guide the caregiver in restoring vital signs The iterative design of the graphic display will be evaluated in a patient simulator. We will identify the type of display which best helps astronauts rapidly stabilize vital signs and efficiently treat the emergency. The final design will enhance recovery from medical emergency in space as well as in numerous ground-based environments.