Prolonged Care (PC)
The Prolonged Care portfolio seeks to drive medical innovation that will address military-related gaps across the spectrum of trauma care from point of prehospital physiologic stabilization to more definitive care located outside the theater of operations. Future military operations are anticipated to encounter substantially lengthened timelines in which each role of care (ROC) can be accessed by the Warfighter, increasing the need for prolonged care and far forward diagnostic and treatment interventions. These efforts include emergency, surgical, and critical care as well as prolonged care and care in austere, remote, and resource-limited environments. The portfolio's overarching goal is to reduce morbidity and mortality by conducting research and developing new technologies, device, procedures, and knowledge to advance medical capabilities. The Prolonged Care portfolio includes Army, Defense Health Program, and Congressional Special Interest funding.
Research Efforts include:
- Development and improvement of technologies to optimize resuscitation and critical care during prolonged care scenarios and in resource limited environments.
- Identification and delivery of solutions that improve surgical support technologies to enhance provider' capability and capacity to delivery care in austere environments
- Development of novel solutions to enable use closer to the point of need and reduce follow-on medical resources required.
- Development of solutions that will enhance providers' capability and capacity to deliver appropriate levels of care at the point of need for injured warfighters.
- Development of advanced imaging technologies to improve imaging capabilities far forward, including devices and image analysis capabilities.
- Development of solutions to safely accelerate RTD (Return to duty) when possible, while decreasing mortality and morbidity, and reducing size, weight, and power (SWaP) and resource requirements.
- Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning as well as other information technologies to improve prolonged care capabilities and delivery to achieve great outcomes anytime, anywhere-always.