Augmented Reality Surgical Visualization Tool for Combat Casualty Care

The objective of this proposal is to develop a prototype of an Augmented Reality Combat Casualty Care (AR-CCC) tool that runs on the US army Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS). In this AR-CCC tool, an individual virtual anatomical avatar is constructed for each soldier before deployment. The avatar consists of that soldier’s detailed anatomy based on simulations of the body shape or medical imaging data. During a CCC or prolonged field care (PFC) scenario, this avatar is superimposed on the view of an injured soldier through the AR display, giving the medical caregiver “X-ray vision” capabilities by allowing to see “inside the patient”. The prototype will include a tracking system to measure the body pose of the patient with the IVAS sensors. The medic will be able to control the AR-CCC tool with speech input to show the desired anatomy and change rendering options to optimize the contrast of the virtual anatomy, maximize the information content and minimize occlusion of the patient. A guidance interface can augment the medical caregiver’s capabilities. The guidance system will exist as an expert version for trained combat medics and a trainee version for soldiers who are less familiar with standard medical procedures or during training scenarios.