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The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has announced a new program to use robots, guided by sensors and artificial intelligence, to locate and stop severe bleeding of soldiers on the battlefield.
The Medics Autonomously Stopping Haemorrhage (MASH) program is designed to treat battlefield injuries, such as non-compressible torso haemorrhage, in areas where there may be limitations in front-line medical facilities.
The autonomous systems under development are designed to stabilise injured warfighters for 48 hours or more, providing crucial time for evacuation to hospitals for definitive care.
“We owe it to our warfighters to give them the best possible chance of survival,” MASH program manager Dr Adam Willis said.
“In large-scale conflicts, many warfighters die from injuries that could be survivable if they could get to a surgeon quickly.
“The real challenge is finding that bleed … Imagine navigating a complex landscape of organs and blood inside the torso to find the exact spot that needs attention.
“It’s like developing a GPS for the inside of the human body to position existing tools to precisely stop the bleed, under extreme circumstances.”
It’s understood that MASH is structured as a three-year program conducted in two phases, the first using integrating sensors with robotic systems to find the bleeding, and then the second developing software and autonomy to stop the bleeding.
The program aims to advance both robotic surgery technology and trauma procedures specifically designed for robotic intervention.
