Two Montana National Guard staff sergeants took part in a DARPA competition that tested how emerging technology could support medical triage when time matters most.
Two Montana National Guard staff sergeants took part in a DARPA competition that tested how emerging technology could support medical triage when time matters most.
FORT HARRISON, Mont. — Two Montana National Guard staff sergeants took part in a DARPA competition that tested how emerging technology could support medical triage when time matters most.
The competition put teams through different challenges tied to medical triage. One simulation showed special forces moving through a mass casualty scenario while trying to find patients, treat them and save as many lives as possible.
Montana National guardsmen Lane Headdress and Brendan Neuman worked with robots during the competition in College Station, Texas. Their events focused on different parts of advanced triage technology, including robotic assessment and using data to predict what a patient might need.
Headdress said one moment stood out when he was introduced to a robot assigned to his team.
“I walk in and they are like ‘Hey this is your robot. It’s part of your team. This is going to go in on its own based on its AI algorithms and it’s going to find people for you’,” Headdress said.
Headdress explained the technology is built to gather information and send it back to him so he could decide how to help patients.
“This is purely information gathering of this is a patient, this is how critical they are, and this is what the AI and what the robots see and it’s relaying that back to me and that helps me make a better decision of how I can help that patient,” Headdress said. “No matter how efficient AI becomes, it can’t replace what a human can do for another human in this regard of the emotional aspect of treating a casualty,” he said.
Neuman also said he does not see AI or robots replacing special forces in the medical field. He said working with DARPA is important because competitors could help improve the technology by sharing what worked and what needed to change.
“Utilizing it and being like this is helping me or this would be helpful if this change happens. So, helping those teams define that area,” Neuman said.
Headdress and Neuman said the technology could help special forces plan ahead, make decisions and work more efficiently once it becomes available.
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