Combat Casualty Triage Training

IDI has developed a Virtual Conversations™ triage training simulation for the Army National Guard with a contract from DARPA. In this fast-paced program, five soldiers are injured in an explosion. Playing the role of medic, the user must make triage and medevac decisions for the casualties, whose injuries include a massive head trauma, a "sucking" chest wound, and a traumatic leg amputation. The voice-controlled interactive program allows the user to ask the soldiers direct questions to evaluate their medical condition, and to obtain vital signs and other physical findings through verbal requests for this information. The user can also request guidance, in the form of expert commentary, for any soldier at any time.

Feedback is provided at the conclusion of the session. The user’s triage and evacuation decisions for each casualty are compared with those of an expert; the outcome for each casualty is described; and percentage scores, based on the number of correct decisions, are provided. Because the decisions made during the simulation influence each casualty’s outcome, users can repeat the simulation and strive to improve their performance.

Col. Craig Llewellyn, M.D., of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, was the medical consultant on this project. Col. Llewellyn, an expert in combat medicine and triage, worked closely with IDI to create this challenging and entertaining training simulation.

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