7 February 2024

Geneva Principal Investigator’s Trauma Simulator to be Integrated in the Vigorous Warrior Multinational Medical Exercise Series in 2024

Geneva Principal Investigator Kyle Couperus, MD, and his research team at Madigan Army Medical Center in collaboration with Exonicus Inc. and IVIR Inc., recently announced that their Trauma Simulator medical simulation system for military professionals serving in high-intensity and combat environments will be integrated into the 2024 Vigorous Warrior Multinational Medical Exercise Series (VW24) in Budapest, Hungary. This exercise series is organized by the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine and is one of the largest medical training events of its type in the world. It gives participating NATO and partnering nations training opportunities in realistic scenarios along with civilian assets, providing the ability to exercise experimental concepts and stress their medical assets.

Dr. Couperus and his team, comprised of Project Manager Oanh Tran and Research Assistants Jonah Beck and Grace DeVane, recently showcased the Trauma Simulator to the VW24 planning committee, demonstrating the capabilities of the system and its potential to improve medical training and enhance the skills of military medical personnel. The Trauma Simulator will be an essential component of this event and will enhance the ability of medical professionals to train for combat environments.

The Trauma Simulator, also known as the MilEx TS™, is a revolutionary medical simulation system for military professionals serving in high-intensity and combat environments. It is designed to work in virtual reality (VR) or on a computer, facilitates self-paced learning, and supports integration with traditional manikins, allowing users access to medical simulation anytime and anywhere without instructors or expensive equipment. The system is designed to simulate various medical scenarios in combat environments, including CBRN exposure, prolonged casualty care, mass casualty incidents, polytrauma (male and female), and other critical injuries. This system provides a realistic training environment that accurately simulates the challenges of a battlefield medical scenario. Additionally, the MilEx TS™ is fully customizable, allowing instructors to create scenarios that match the training needs of their students.

Ready Medic One, Dr. Couperus’s research team managed by Geneva and located at Madigan, is proud to have contributed to the development, validation, and evaluation of the MilEx TS™ Medical Simulation System. To date, four different VR research protocols have been approved for research recruitment and data collection.

All the images belong to Exonicus.Inc – MilEx TS™

Figure 1 Dr. Kyle Couperus presents VR Trauma Simulator at Main Planning Conference of NATO MILMED COE Vigorous Warrior 24, Budapest, Hungary May 2023.

Figure 2 Example of Trauma Simulator scenario:  Ebola/CBRN Patient visualization

Disclaimer: The views expressed do not reflect the official policy of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.