Air Force continuing development of BATDOK mobile medical device

Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force is wrapping up development trials for the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit, following observations of the device's use in the field.

The kit is a software package installed on a smartphone, tablet or other wireless device, which digitally connects with sensors placed on a patient, allowing a medic to monitor multiple patients simultaneously.

It includes a portal to access military electronic health records It and a medical library for quick reference. The attached sensors also give the exact location of each patient on battlefield maps.

The system has seen field-testing with Air Force flight medics and special operations personnel, with the developers on the scene to evaluate and tweak the system.

"We see, at the point of injury, the challenges and limitations that our medical Airmen face," Dr. Gregory Burnett, the system's program manager for the U.S. Air Force, said in a release.

"With those lessons learned and gaps identified through direct experience, we come back to the lab and devise innovative solutions to address the short falls we observed firsthand in the field."

The kit is part of the Air Force "Batman" program to develop wearable technologies for field use. Items being considered include gloves with fiber-optic lights, signal guns for air traffic controllers and other gear.