New technologies have greatly improved the survival rate for military personnel wounded in combat during the Iraq conflict.During World War II, approximately 30% (almost one-third) of soldiers wounded in combat died from their wounds. In the Korean War, the number dropped to about 24%, and held steady at that rate through the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars. In the current action in Iraq, the number has dropped dramatically to just under 14%, or one in seven.
This sudden shift can be attributed to a number of advances in medical and practical techniques that are currently being used by the military. These include: better preventive attire, increased training for field medical personnel, improved medical facilities, and breakthrough medical technologies.
In addition to helmets, military personnel are now wearing lightweight body armor vests, composed of ceramic plates inserted into combat vests. This has greatly reduced the number of fatal head and torso wounds, although the number of wounds to the arms and legs has remained high.
Field medics are now being given training as emergency medical technicians, rather than just first aid treatment, so they are able to provide more and better service to wounded soldiers. Following initial treatment, wounded soldiers may be transported in armored ambulances and helicopters with intensive care facilities to field hospitals close to the battle lines, or further back. Improved medical facilities at every stage of treatment are increasing the survival rate of wounded soldiers.
Among the most interesting improvements, though, are the advances in medical technology now being used in combat situations. Because excessive blood loss is one of the main causes of battlefield death, the military has focused on developing technologies that stop bleeding.
Soldiers in combat are now being equipped with special bandages coated in an agent that encourages the blood to clot. The clotting agents may be made from shrimp cells, potatoes, or human blood. This fast-working bandage can stop potentially fatal bleeding in mere minutes. These bandages may also be useful in non-military situations, such as a car accident.
Another new battlefield medical treatment is a one-handed tourniquet. The tourniquet allows soldiers to apply it with one hand while shooting or taking other action with the other. Tourniquets are a less desirable treatment for hemorrhage than clotting, because using them risks the loss of the limb due to nerve damage.
Technologies being developed for future use include the modification of night vision goggles to view veins and arteries rapidly and accurately. This is helpful when working in the dark or with patients with less visible blood vessels. This makes it easier for medics to insert IVs and transmit fluids to the patient. The goggles can also make bones and other tissues more visible. Another product in development is a hemoglobin fluid to restore blood pressure after being wounded. This can be substituted for temperature-sensitive blood, which cannot be properly stored in the field. Handheld ultrasound computers can assist doctors with diagnosing internal injuries. Handheld personal digital assistants may be used to track medical information on soldiers in the field.
The push for these technologies was spurred in part by the 1993 fighting in Somalia. After a helicopter was shot down during an operation, eighteen Special Operations soldiers died in the subsequent fighting, including one who bled to death. A field hospital was only a mile away, but the soldiers couldn’t reach it.
