North Spark, 319th MDG Partnership Drives Medical Innovation > Grand Forks Air Force Base > News

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GRAND FORKS AIR BASE, ND —

Because the Department of Defense recognizes the importance of continuous innovation in an ever-changing technology landscape, the North Spark Defense Laboratory here has set its sights on medical advances intended to increase combat survivability.

The North Spark Defense Laboratory and the 319th Medical Group are working with private sector partners to improve Tactical Combat Casualty Care, focusing on innovating and improving how healthcare providers monitor patients’ vital signs, administer blood transfusions and replenish bodily fluids in austere environments.

“Every minute of delay in initiating blood transfusion increases the death rate by 5 percent,” said the staff sergeant. Brent Harland, creative lead of the North Spark Defense Laboratory. “Finding a solution for a faster, more targeted way to replenish fluid loss could potentially increase the survival rate of combat casualties.”

The North Spark Defense Laboratory was awarded two small business innovation/small business technology transfer research projects related to medicine.

One project focuses on improving the speed, accuracy and ease of treating haemorrhagic shock by rapidly infusing blood or fluids to critically ill patients.

The other project tracks and transmits multiple vital signs in real time to physicians providing early trauma notification in hopes of reducing medical response times.

The goal of both projects is to significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality rate associated with combat injuries.

“We are working with two companies that specialize in lifesaving medical equipment to develop a military-grade ruggedized version of the device that DOD medical providers could benefit from using when dealing with life-threatening injuries,” Harland said.

The Department of the Air Force SBIR/STTR is a competitive AFVentures program that allows small businesses in the United States to work with the DOD and other government agencies to commercialize collaborative research and development projects.

Representatives from both companies visited Grand Forks Air Force Base to showcase their medical devices and ask for feedback from Airmen working in medical specialties. The companies collated design ideas and tested existing prototypes to evaluate and refine each device for military use.

“As a collective group, we were able to function test the devices to provide feedback on how to modify the device to meet the needs of a military medical service provider,” Tech said. The sergeant. April Welch, a 319th MDG Independent Duty Medical Technician. “We want to develop a compact, lightweight device optimized for warfare combatant triage when an individual is at or near the point of injury.”

Welch, the technical point of contact for SBIR/STTR projects, works closely with both companies to share 319th MDG recommendations, provide progress updates, and accept or reject product results.

“There are three major phases to the SBIR/STTR program: phase one is the feasibility study, phase two is prototype development, and phase three is product commercialization,” Welch said. “Both companies are in phase two of the project and we hope to see the new prototype in spring 2023.”

Once the full SBIR/STTR program is completed in all phases, Welch and the North Spark Defense Laboratory hope the medical products can be used throughout the entire DOD, ultimately improving patient outcomes in field trauma care. battle and saving lives.

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