UK medics trial ground breaking app
UK military medics taking part in Exercise Saif Sareea 3 in Oman – the largest military exercise UK troops have taken part in for two decades – have praised a new app which they claim is ‘worth its weight in gold’.
UK military medics taking part in Exercise Saif Sareea 3 in Oman – the largest military exercise UK troops have taken part in for two decades – have praised a new app which they claim is ‘worth its weight in gold’.
Called Proximie, the app allows medics to overlay x-rays onto a patient with a camera that is linked back to the UK to a consultant in the relevant medical field. The consultant is then able to offer specialist support to the troops in the field on how to treat a casualty.
Lieutenant Colonel David Wilson of the Royal Army Medical Corps is currently taking part in the exercise alongside 5,500 UK personnel and 65,000 of their Omani counterparts. He said that the technology ‘is huge’, adding: "This is the next century coming into where we are now, this is what we have been hoping for. Even though computers are evolving twice the speed every year, they haven't necessarily delivered us the advantages we had hoped.”
The troops are utilising Puma and Chinook helicopters in the casualty drills, and have established a tented medical facility, covering an area of 75m by 75m, which has been deployed for the first time in almost 20 years. It offers a two-bed intensive care unit, 12 low dependency ward beds, a two-bed emergency department and one surgical table available for use.
Squadron Leader Rob James is part of the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) in Oman. He also works with the Devon Air Ambulance, UK. He said: “Operating in this environment with military kit and military aircraft is vital in preparing for anything else we might have to do in a non-exercise role.”