collaborations/integrated-medical-capability

COLLABORATIONS

Sol.one Integrated Medical Capability.

About iMEDCAP

The Integrated Medical Capability (iMEDCAP) project, funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF) under grant agreement number 101121421, is a pioneering initiative aimed at revolutionizing the detection, treatment, and evacuation of gravely injured and potentially contagious military personnel from inaccessible areas.

Key Benefits of the iMEDCAP Project:

Autonomous Detection and Evacuation: iMEDCAP is developing intelligent systems capable of autonomously detecting injured personnel in complex and hazardous environments, including those with Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) threats. This capability ensures rapid identification and extraction of casualties, adhering to the medical paradigm of the "golden hour," which emphasizes immediate response to traumatic injuries to maximize survival rates.

Enhanced Preparedness for CBRN Scenarios: By focusing on the evacuation and treatment of contaminated personnel, iMEDCAP enhances Europe's preparedness for CBRN situations. The project's holistic approach addresses the need for decentralized medical support in potentially hostile environments, ensuring that current medical evacuation solutions are adaptable to modern warfare challenges.

Sol1's Role

Onboard Data Management

As part of the DMS, Sol1 provides the certified computers that take inputs from various sources, including CAN bus, ARINC 429, RS-485 and others, connects and converts these streams, and gathers them.

Comms Data Management

The Comms Data Management, which is part of the DMS, priorities traffic and throttles it according to the available bandwidth. It can work simultaneously with Starlink, 5G and direct radio links.

Certifiable Ground Station

The Sol1 Certifiable Ground Station uses its plug-in system to represent the Avilus Grille UAV, in addition to the Milrem THeMIS UGV.

Advanced Medical Treatment During Transport: The project introduces an interoperable patient transport solution equipped with diagnostic and intervention equipment. This setup enables the provision of initial medical care during transport under remote control, ensuring continuous monitoring and treatment of injured personnel en route to medical facilities.

Strengthened European Defence Collaboration: iMEDCAP brings together a consortium of 24 organizations from nine European countries, including armed forces, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises, and industrial partners. This collaboration fosters the sharing of expertise and resources, contributing to a unified and robust European defense capability

In conclusion, the iMEDCAP project represents a significant advancement in military medical capabilities, offering autonomous, efficient, and effective solutions for the detection, treatment, and evacuation of injured personnel in challenging environments. Its innovative approach not only strengthens Europe's defense readiness but also holds promise for broader applications in civilian emergency response.

Potential for Civilian Emergency Applications: While initiated in the defense sector, the technological advancements achieved through iMEDCAP have significant potential for civilian emergency scenarios, such as wildfire or nuclear incidents. The intelligent solutions developed can facilitate autonomous rescue approaches beyond military applications, enhancing overall public safety.

Medical Payload Secure Communication

The medical information gather onboard must be not be provided to the drone operator, but has to arrive at the Patient Evacuation Coordination Center (PECC) where doctors can evaluate it. Even so, the information must be appropriately prioritised under limited bandwidth. The DMS and GCS are adapted to handle these ethical needs, and to interact with third party systems about this information.

Takeoff/Landing Safety System

The blades of the multi-rotor must not activate while there are humans in the danger zone. The ground system and onboard sensors (TLSS) combine to provide the ground operator with the means to avoid these situations.

ROS2 for UGV Autonomy

Onboard the Milrem THeMIS UGV, the Sol1 DMS communicates with the Safran autonomy module using the ROS2 (Robot Operating System) protocol.

Geocaging Tests

Although not part of the iMEDCAP program, the Avilus Grille aircraft already used the non-destructive Sol1 Flight Termination System to ensure the aircraft did not leave the grounds during test flights.