Throughout history, military medical personnel have been involved in providing care for their comrades in arms, often at the expense of their own lives. Researchers in the US are working on a project that could replace army medics on a battlefield with robotic surgeons and nurses.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon research arm who turns science fiction fantasy into military reality. DARPA conducts high-risk military research and in the process develops amazing medical technology. At their 3-day DARPA tech conference, they announced the upcoming deployment of the first portable, self-contained, remote battlefield medic/surgeon Trauma Pod robotic system by 2009. Surgical robotics was initially conceived by DARPA as remote battlefront or space surgical robots and this technology is now widely available in the DaVinci surgical robots. Brett Giroir, director of the research agency’s Defense Sciences Office also announced that the system, called Trauma Pod, has successfully “treated” a mannequin during a test, with no complications.
Brendan Visser, a surgeon at Stanford University in California who helped develop the Trauma Pod, described it as: “Three separate robots dance over the top of the patient with their powerful arms moving very quickly, yet they don’t crash and they’re able to deliver very small items from one arm to another.” The purpose of the Trauma Pod is to provide a quick “temporary fix” to wounded soldiers before being taken to the hospital. A single human will operate the robot remotely during surgery, but Trauma Pod will be able to perform a number of functions, such as fluid administration and surgical assistance, autonomously. The goal is to stabilize injured soldiers as quickly as possible and previous Trauma Pod designs have included related systems that evacuate the patient. It could provide airway control, relieve life-threatening injuries such as a collapsed lung, or stop bleeding temporarily.
The unit comprises one three-armed surgeon robot, assisted by 12 other robotic systems. Remotely controlled by a human, the surgeon robot communicates with and instructs the other robots. One of its three arms holds an endoscope to allow the human controller to see inside the patient, while the other two grip surgical tools. The robot also could be allowed to carry out some simple tasks without human help, such as placing stitches or tying knots. The bed itself monitors vital signs, administers fluids and oxygen, and may eventually administer anesthesia. A voice-activated robotic arm “Hot Lips” - M*A*S*H - passes fresh tools and supplies to the surgeon robot. A third “circulating nurse” robot gives out the right tools. Getting the patient off the battlefield and into a hospital is another matter. While the Pod is supposed to eventually meet certain size and weight restrictions, there are no plans yet to incorporate specific vehicles. The Trauma Pod is expected to be used by the Army initially, with possible, full-production deployment happening between 2011 and 2013.