Improving Medical Training for Cold Weather Injuries with Haptic Virtual Reality Simulations

ArchieMD's proposed haptic VR simulations for cold weather injury assessment, management, and treatment combine the most important aspects of various skills training pedagogies into a single immersive training system. This system will incorporate and overlay theoretical knowledge in a practical context to supplement traditional educational models. The military has more recently acknowledged the need to provide appropriate care to service members in climates that are different than the Middle East. For instance, the physical environment of the Middle East is typically hot and arid, whereas U.S. military bases in the Arctic circle experience drastically different weather. In cold environments, military members face not only service-related injuries, but also cold weather injuries like frostbite, hypothermia, chilblain, and immersion foot. Cold weather injuries can be avoided by wearing the appropriate gear and limiting exposure to the elements; however, these steps are not always feasible for military service members given the nature of their occupations. As such, it is critical that military medics can identify and properly care for service members who have a cold weather injury. ArchieMD’s technology will help military medics identify and care for cold weather injuries. In this Phase I application, ArchieMD proposes to 1) develop a mobile application for non-battlefield injury assessment in cold weather environments, 2) create a virtual patient simulator for cold weather injury management.  and 3) develop an advanced haptics simulation platform for peripheral intravenous insertion. Medical personnel must be able to distinguish cold weather injuries from each other to perform the correct treatment. ArchieMD will develop mobile applications that teach medical personnel how to identify and care for patients with cold weather injuries. To demonstrate long-term retention, it is not enough to provide information to the patient; it is essential that the patient have rehearsal opportunities to build understanding and a more positive attitude. Additionally, in cold weather environments, the mechanical properties of the body may change, thus making the performance of medical procedures feel different to the medical personnel. For example, a patient with frostbite will have harder skin. If the patient needs fluids, a peripheral intravenous catheter must be inserted. However, since the skin is harder, the medical personnel performing the insertion must use more force than normal to properly place the catheter. As such, it is important that medical personnel are trained to perform such procedures in cold weather environments. Successful completion of these aims will support immersive simulation training, allowing military medic education programs to supplement lecture- or observation-based training or replace current task trainer manikins. These easily accessed training simulations will result in improved clinical skills and, ultimately, better patient care.