There is a concept in battlefield medicine called the “platinum five minutes.” This concept basically states that the mortality rate for wounds and injuries suffered on the battlefield can be reduced significantly if medical attention can be delivered to the warfighter within the first five minutes of being wounded. Studies have since been released that show battlefield medical care – including the application of tourniquets – is even more effective if administered within the first three minutes of being wounded.
Regardless of whether the optimal number of minutes is three or five, it’s apparent that more rapid care results in more positive outcomes when it comes to being wounded in battle. The quality of the care delivered in those first few minutes is also important – the more specialized and higher quality of the care, the better the outcome. This means getting critical, specialized and timely care to wounded soldiers on the battlefield could have a massive impact on soldier survivability and recovery.
Historically, it’s been difficult to get more than triage and emergency medical services to the battlefield – there simply aren’t enough doctors and specialists to have them on the front lines. This means quality, specialized care is often reserved for wounded warriors who are stabilized in the field by emergency medical personnel and then evacuated to a medical facility.
“Telehealth solutions can enable military medics to quickly consult with trauma surgeons or other specialists, ensuring that lifesaving interventions—such as managing hemorrhages, airway control, or resuscitation—are performed as quickly as possible with the best available guidance.” – Dr. Patrick Fullerton
But what if a doctor or specialist could be looking over the shoulder of a medic on the battlefield – helping to direct their actions and learning and monitoring the patient’s condition before they arrive at the hospital? That’s precisely what a company called OPTAC-X is looking to enable with telehealth capabilities delivered via satellite.
Civilian pilot program shows positive results
Leveraging advanced assisted reality headsets and satellite connectivity, OPTAC-X has created a telehealth solution that brings physicians into the field and makes them active participants in the delivery of emergency medical care. This accelerates the delivery of critical, specialized medical care intended to improve patient outcomes. The OPTAC-X solution has been tested in pilot programs for civilians within the United States, and has been highly beneficial for Americans in need of emergency medical care.
“…in the field of emergency medicine, we deal with life-threatening and limb-threatening injuries; that’s our primary job. When people…have highly concerning symptoms or they’ve suffered a life or limb-threatening injury, getting to them quickly and providing care efficiently is critical because many of these diseases or injuries are time-sensitive,” explained Dr. Christopher Russi, an Emergency Medicine Physician at the Mayo Clinic. “When you’re bleeding, the clock is ticking.”
But this solution isn’t just about delivering better care outside of the hospital. It can also ensure better, prompt, and accurate care is administered more quickly when the patient presents at the medical facility.
“…we need to get patients from the point of injury or the point of illness to the hospital as expeditiously but as safely as possible. But that window of time, that transport window, is where we have a bit of a black box. It’s a data vacuum. We have no idea what’s happening with those patients during that Transport window,” said Dr. Russi. Telehealth eliminates that vacuum, ensuring that physicians awaiting patients know exactly what’s coming through the door and can act more rapidly to deliver the appropriate care.
These are just two of the many benefits that OPTAC-X identified in its recent pilot program conducted in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and Kymeta. That pilot program outfitted emergency medical services (EMS) personnel with the OPTAC-X solution, powered by Kymeta electronically scanned array [ESA] satellite terminals and SES geostationary (GEO) satellite connectivity. During the pilot, EMS personnel were able to bring physicians into patients’ homes, improving the quality and accelerating the speed of care – ultimately improving outcomes.
“We published a case where Mayo Clinic’s ambulance service responded to a patient suffering from severe respiratory distress that devolved into a cardiac arrest. The paramedics that were trained to use the technology connected an emergency medicine physician who had real-time visual on the patient at the scene and provided some resuscitative guidance to the prehospital team.” said Dr. Patrick Fullerton, the CEO and Founder of OPTAC-X. “That patient survived to the hospital and discharged from the intensive care unit. Cardiac arrest has about a 10 percent survival rate outside of the hospital, so this was a great example of OPTAC-X technology making a life-changing contribution…”
Although the technology shows promise for use by EMS personnel and hospitals, could it be adapted to deliver benefits on the battlefield and in other emergency scenarios? The founders believe it could.
From ER to battlefield
Many of the same challenges EMS personnel face are also present on the battlefield. Time and expertise are limited. Conditions are suboptimal and resources are limited. If the OPTAC-X can improve outcomes in emergency medicine, it should be able to do so for battlefield medicine. And, with the OPTAC-X solution capable of leveraging satellite communications to deliver telehealth services within the U.S., it should be able to deliver similar capabilities anywhere else on the globe where satellite connectivity is available.
“…we need to get patients from the point of injury or the point of illness to the hospital as expeditiously but as safely as possible. But that window of time, that transport window, is where we have a bit of a black box. It’s a data vacuum.” – Dr. Christopher Russi
“Telehealth solutions can enable military medics to quickly consult with trauma surgeons or other specialists, ensuring that lifesaving interventions—such as managing hemorrhages, airway control, or resuscitation—are performed as quickly as possible with the best available guidance,” said Dr. Fullerton. “Moreover, telehealth systems help optimize the use of medevac resources by providing accurate assessments from the field, avoiding unnecessary strain on medical logistics, and preventing overcrowding in combat support hospitals.”
Satellite-enabled telehealth would also be beneficial in areas other than the battlefield, including disaster and emergency response scenarios.
“In emergency scenarios, including natural disasters and terror attacks, terrestrial networks may be down, leaving EMS and first responders without comms,” said Dr. Fullerton. “Leveraging satellite communications for telehealth capabilities enables emergency response personnel to provide medical care to those in the field who need it. They can literally have the best specialists on-site quickly. And that’s essential since early intervention saves lives.”
In medical emergencies – whether a soldier is wounded on the battlefield, or a citizen is injured in an accident or a national emergency – getting rapid, quality, specialized care to them could be the difference between life and death. Adopting advanced telehealth solutions using satellite communications can be the key to timely administering this life-saving care – increasing survivability and improving outcomes.
Featured image: The U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School demonstrate a real world MEDEVAC mission at MacArthur Field, Joint Base San Antonio. (U.S. Army photo by Francis S. Trachta)