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Source: DARPA

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this is very cool
By Souka on 12/11/2012 3:00:38 PM , Rating: 5
Glad to see it happening.

I could see such an idea being applied to Ambulances for similar issues in non-combat zones here in the states...

RE: this is very cool
By augiem on 12/11/2012 4:29:25 PM , Rating: 1
I can imagine this kind of thing will lead to either the reduciton of medical staff and/or putting more workload on existing staff because many types of injuries would no longer be as high priority so the patients could be moved back in triage. Now they'll have more time to deal with the problem, so you can fit more people in the waiting line.

It's like how computers get faster and faster every year. You imagine it would mean your job would get a little easier, but ultimately you're just expected to do more work in the same amount of time.

RE: this is very cool
By Solandri on 12/11/2012 7:03:48 PM , Rating: 2

You're expected to do more work in the same amount of time because computers did make your job easier. It used to take hours to number crunch the monthly expenses for a report. Now you can do it in seconds.

You may not be seeing the benefits of that directly in terms of your salary. But you're seeing it indirectly in terms of lower prices. The company making your HDTV doesn't have to hire as many people to do its accounting, so it can lower the prices of its TVs.

In terms of triage, what this does is allow them to handle spikes of patients better. Before you'd have a bunch of doctors and nurses sitting around doing nothing most of the time, except after a big battle there wouldn't be enough of them to treat all the injured. It's not like a civilian hospital where most of the time there's a steady stream of patients coming in. So any system which can spread out those spikes of injuries will help, even if it means the number of medical staff can be reduced. It improves efficiency because the doctors have to spend less time sitting around doing nothing waiting for injuries to come in.

RE: this is very cool
By maugrimtr on 12/13/2012 7:06:14 AM , Rating: 2
I don't see how this lessens a wounded soldier's priority for treatment. A fatal wound remains a fatal wound. It just offers more time to get the person to a surgeon before they die from blood loss.

RE: this is very cool

RE: this is very cool

