Volume 5, Number 1     January/February 1997

  Technology Transfer

Surgery In The Dark

OING SURGERY IN THE DARK MAY NO longer hinder battlefield medics thanks to NASA technology.

Thermalscan, Inc. of Baton Rouge, Louisiana is working with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory to develop a battlefield care system that uses infrared imaging. Doctors would be able to see patients in the dark using body-generated heat via a head-mounted infrared camera and monitor.

A Thermalscan, Inc. battlefield care system uses infrared imaging so doctors can see patients in the dark via their body-generated heat.

"The camera sees heat like our eyes see visual light, which allows for operations in complete darkness such as in a cave or on a moonless night. The setup has potential to allow doctors to suture in the dark and find veins for inserting an intravenous needle," said Thermalscan, Inc. Founder Jim Davidson. The system also can detect if blood is getting to an organ not easily visible to the naked eye.

Davidson received his initial education in thermal and infrared image analysis while working with Stennis Space Center in 1995 on a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to develop a pavement survey and management system.

Thermalscan is a nondestructive testing company that uses infrared cameras to find maintenance problems not visible to the naked eye. Davidson had an interest in roofs and buildings and their maintenance and energy problems. He had seen a demonstration of infrared imaging devices, while a civilian architect at Eglin Air Force Base, and thought the technology would be good for architectural inspection.

Davidson began working with Stennis and its Louisiana Technology Transfer Office on an SBIR project to develop a way to survey the condition of roads using this technology in 1991. His system uses a combination of line-scan video and an infrared camera to collect high-resolution images of pavement conditions.

Once Thermalscan's contract with Stennis was over in 1995, Davidson began working with Medical Thermal Diagnostics on another SBIR contract using his knowledge of infrared image analysis. The initial research applied the technology to improve determination of risk factors for breast cancer. While the breast cancer research is proving successful, Thermalscan also is developing the battlefield trauma device.

"This system is important because normal emergency triage, or determining the condition of the patient, can be done in total darkness. It is possible to see if someone is breathing with this system since you can see the chest moving and the warm air coming from the mouth and nose," Davidson said.

This system is not hindered by bright lights and actually will help daylight operations and detection of bruises and hemorrhaging.

For more information about the product, contact Jim Davidson. Call 504/388-3970.
For more information about SBIR at Stennis, Call 601/688-3964.
For more information about the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, contact Roy Keller. Call 504/334-5555.
Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.