Open Call for Innovative Defense-Related Dual-Purpose Technologies/Solutions with a Clear Air Force Stakeholder Need

On the front lines and in military operations with limited infrastructure, surgeries often occur in makeshift hospitals with unsterile conditions. Wounded warfighters thus incur increased deaths and disability from wound infections. This consideration often forces surgical teams to defer treatment up the casualty chain, with multidrug-resistant infections developing during evacuation. In both OIF and OEF trauma centers, 5-10% of healthcare personnel were exposed to patient bodily fluids, with 48% occurring in surgery, endangering surgical teams. SurgiBox addresses both patient and provider infections with an ultraportable, battery-powered, sterile field that fits in a backpack. Surgical teams seal a clear plastic bubble to the patient's skin, inflate with a filtered airflow system, and start operating through ports within 90 seconds. SurgiBox improves warfighters' access to surgery during the Golden Hour while protecting both patients and providers from surgical site infections. SBIR funding would enable Team SurgiBox to work with AFSOC’s Alison Group to identify the prime potential USAF end users, early adopters, initial transition partner, and critical program and contracting offices. Team SurgiBox will also use interviews and hands-on testing to identify and validate defense-specific production requirements, which will in turn help us finalize expected cost and integration with current mission-specific products.