Augmented Reality Surgical Vizualization Tool for Combat Casualty Care

AR-TC3 was successfully developed during Phases I and II and will provide Medics with a better understanding of critical anatomy that has been affected by trauma, both on a mannequin or patient during training, rehearsal, or actual treatment guidance even in austere environments. Before its use on the battlefield to guide patient treatment, we have received a lot of interest in using AR-TC3 during training by providing Medics with a better understanding and medical-decision help for complicated procedures and to familiarize Medics and US Servicemembers with this novel heads-up AR technology before using it on the battlefield. Two capabilities need to be added to make AR-TC3 most useful for training: We need to ensure that Medics can continuously train and rehearse their medical decision-making skills. This requires that the Medics can perform training anywhere, whether at home or in austere environments even if they donÆt have access to the still expensive professional AR headset and a training mannequin or patient. Medical experts must be able to remotely experience what the Medic experiences in real-time. This will allow the remote expert to remotely guide the medic and provide detailed advice from real-life experiences both during training and even later on the battlefield. To provide these capabilities, we will create two modules for AR-TC3: The first module, AR-TC3 Rehearse, is a medical decision-making training tool that allows Medics to store a 3D digital twin of the patient on the device to later play back and reexperience the medical procedure for training in a completely 3D virtual environment. This is the first application that allows Medics to create their own medical AR/VR training scenarios without the need for a developer team. The second module, AR-TC3 Remote, provides Medics with easier access to skilled trainers and surgeons with real-life experience via real-time 3D remote guidance.