Army researchers want AI to help deliver anesthetics in battle

A tool that uses artificial intelligence to pinpoint the delivery of pain management drugs to an injury site is being developed by Army researchers. The aim is to allow personnel who may have limited experience administering anesthetics to get those drugs to patients on the battlefield when they need it most. 

“If you look at what’s happening in Ukraine, medical teams have to be constantly on the move. If you stop, you die only because Russia has swarmed Ukraine with all sorts of drones that are constantly looking for targets,” said Dr. Jose Salinas, the lead scientist developing the tool. “Providing that type of environment with solutions that will increase mobility, that will reduce the manpower required to monitor and manage those patients.”

Salinas and Lt. Col. Brian Kirkwood, the team’s chief AI officer, are working on the device for the Army Institute of Surgical Research. The tool is based on the AI-GUIDE, developed by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory, which uses AI to help first responders with limited experience accurately place needles and medical tubes into patients’ upper thigh arteries and veins to manage life-threatening blood loss. The Army’s modified version includes a screen that indicates whether the user should move left, right, up or down, and once it’s in position, it turns green and directs the needle insertion for regional pain management drugs.