Photo By Cameron Parks | U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Procter and Emily Krohn stand for a photo at the U.S....... read more read more
Team members with the Soldier Medical Devices Project Management Office are showcasing the latest in developing military medical hardware and technologies this week as part of the Military Health System Research Symposium in Kissimmee, Florida, Aug. 26-29, 2024.
The SMD PMO team, part of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity at Fort Detrick, Maryland, joins hundreds of U.S. Department of Defense and development industry stakeholders during MHSRS, the DoD’s premier scientific meeting.
During the conference, SMD is meeting with both Department of Defense and medical development industry experts about the latest and greatest combat casualty treatment capabilities. The featured development program at this year’s display is the Prolonged Care Augmentation Detachment (PCAD) Medical Equipment Set (MES), which is designed for medical leaders to provide a flexible and enhanced patient care capability far forward on the battlefield, according to Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Procter, the USAMMDA senior enlisted advisor.
“The PCAD MES is a great advancement for frontline medical providers because it is highly expeditionary and purpose-built to meet the needs of patients at and near the front lines,” said Procter, a special operations medic with combat deployments in Iraq in 2007 and 2010 and numerous other overseas deployments under his belt. “During the past two decades, we learned that the ‘golden hour’ was critical to saving combat trauma patients in Iraq and Afghanistan. We had unmatched aviation capabilities for medevac and casualty evacuation to higher echelons of care.
In places like the Arctic and Indo-Pacific regions where future conflicts might take place, our Joint Forces will be operating in austere, remote areas with logistics and evacuation lines stretched hundreds and thousands of miles,” he added. “The PCAD MES is uniquely suited to meet the challenges caused by austerity and distance, redefining the ‘golden hour’ and helping to prolong life until medevac is arranged or to return wounded to duty without unnecessary evacuation.”
The PCAD MES includes medical supplies and devices designed for treatment of critical care patients for up to 72 hours. While 72 hours is only a three-day weekend for most people, it is a relative lifetime for wounded service members at a battalion aid station, and the medics and corpsmen working to save their lives, according to Emily Krohn, assistant product manager with SMD’s Treatment and Evacuation development team.
“PCAD is designed to be a mobile capability. Four-person squads are intended to augment Role 2 and far-forward medical elements to support patient care when evacuation capabilities are limited,” said Krohn. “The PCAD squad’s medical equipment set is designed to provide care for six patients for up to 72 hours. Supporting our Warfighters and providing innovative solutions to trauma care challenges is the SMD team’s goal, and the PCAD MES is vital to that mission.”
The SMD team is only one of four USAMMDA PMOs representing the latest in military medical development during this year’s MHSRS. The symposium is especially noteworthy due to the evolving structure of USAMMDA and the transformation of efforts within U.S. military medicine. Three of USAMMDA’s Project Management Offices – Warfighter Readiness, Performance, and Brain Health; Warfighter Expeditionary Medicine and Treatment; and Warfighter Protection and Acute Care – are continuing their organizational transition to the Defense Health Agency. The SMD PMO is transitioning to the Program Executive Office-Soldier.
USAMMDA develops, delivers, and fields critical drugs, vaccines, biologics, devices, and medical support equipment to protect and preserve the lives of Warfighters across the globe. USAMMDA Project Managers guide the development of medical products for the U.S. Army Medical Department, other U.S. military services, the Joint Staff, the Defense Health Agency, and the U.S. Special Operations community.
The process takes promising technology from the Department of Defense, industry, and academia to U.S. Forces, from the testing required for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval or licensing to fielding and sustainment of the finished product. USAMMDA Project Management Offices will transition to a Program Executive Office under the Defense Health Agency, Deputy Assistant Director for Acquisition and Sustainment.
Media representatives may request more information by emailing the USAMMDA Public Affairs Office at usarmy.detrick.medcom-usammda.mbx.usammda-pao@health.mil.
For more information about USAMMDA and how to partner with the U.S. Army and DoD medical development enterprises, visit https://usammda.health.mil/.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2024 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 479553 |
| Location: | KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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