Current commercial market offers many products that may form the basis from which to proceed, these devices were not designed with the original intent to perform in the austere environment of combat by minimally trained personnel where evacuation and access to higher echelons of medical care are likely to be significantly delayed. The overarching challenge will be to design robust light-weight and easy to use critical care medical tools which meet the unique needs of SOF warfighters. Proper design of such devices should allow their application to known salvageable injury patterns with a minimum amount of failure. Successful design and creation of such devices will also provide advances in civilian emergency medical care. I - Development of a tourniquet that: a) Can be carried by each warfighter as a standard issue item. b) Can be easily self-applied using one hand in the event of that one extremity is incapacitated or required for other immediate action. c) Can be easily self-adjusted in terms of placement and in applied circumferential pressure allowing the user to know the pressure applied at any given moment. d) Ability to determine the safe limits of application in terms of tourniquet pressure, time, and perhaps even determine systemic blood pressure. e) Ability to apply the tourniquet directly to the wound with ports in the device for delivery of hemostatic, anesthetic, and antimicrobial agents to the wound without removing the tourniquet. f) Could be potentially incorporated into clothing and be in place at all times during mission. II - Development of an Airway Management Device that: a) Can be blindly placed and in correct position 100% of the time. b) Can be placed with no manipulation of the cervical spine c) Provides protection against aspiration d) Provides for gastric decompression e) Tamponades ororpharyngeal bleeding f) Prevents impending airway occlusion g) Provides adequate ventilation in the face of decreased chest wall compliance/high airway pressure h) Allows for subsequent endotracheal intubation without prior removal of the airway adjunct
