PHAROS 2nd Phase II

Areté’s Patient Handling via Audio, Recording, and Observation System (PHAROS) provides continuous real-time patient monitoring that is entirely non-contact and low size, weight, and power (SWaP). Medics are trained to use observation and communication to gauge a patient’s status within the first few seconds of interaction as well as during ongoing monitoring. A good medic can make a priority decision – within seconds – using only their eyes and ears. Our system aims to translate medic visual and, where applicable, audio perception to an automated patient monitoring system by continuously monitoring casualties through wound detection, remote vitals measurement, and evaluation of patient responsiveness and awareness. The system acts as a force multiplier; by continuously monitoring patients and alerting medics to changes in patient condition without the need to replace contact sensors, PHAROS enables medics to spend more time administering care to individuals in greater need and to more patients in general. In Phase I, Areté developed and demonstrated a proof-of-concept monitoring system using COTS hardware with computer-vision, deep learning, and natural language processing (NLP) algorithms. In the first Phase II, Areté further enhanced and refined the algorithms from proof-of-concept to a reliable, continuous monitoring system. To aid algorithm development and evaluation, Areté designed and conducted a human subjects study to collect data under conditions representative of enroute situations. The first Phase II effort demonstrated an advanced non-contact capability for casualty monitoring under a range of imaging conditions and generated a large dataset of video and vitals to contribute towards future development. In the proposed second Phase II, Areté will design, develop, and test a rugged, low SWAP system, further maturing PHAROS monitoring capabilities and culminating in a TRL 6 prototype tested under operationally relevant field environments.