Feral Jundi

     I like this, but I have to think, what took you guys so long to think it up?  I mean they have already been using these types of paracargo systems for years, and just now the military is thinking about using it for medical resupply?

     What really kills me is that they predict they might be up and running with the project by January? I am sorry, but this is ridiculous and so typical of how government operates.  Put the stuff in a box, and drop it out of the airplane like you would with ammo, food, and water. Surround it with as much cushioning as it takes to insure it lands in one piece, but either way, get it done.

     In the smokejumpers, we have been dropping medical paracargo for a long time.  Stuff like oxygen bottles, IV’s and whatever else the mission required. Which is another point to bring up.  If they are going to drop this kind of bundle in any kind of wooded areas, it might be wise to also have a set of tree climbing equipment that you can toss out of the aircraft as well.  Maybe something that you could drop by GPS chute, and then at a certain altitude the tree climbing box is released with a small drogue keeping it straight but still allowing for speed of the bundle.  That way the thing can plow through the trees to the ground.

     Or if the aircraft can do a low pass, they could toss out the thing as well. In the jumpers, this is how we would do it, and those boxes would plow through the trees just so the guys on the ground could get to it for tree climbing operations.   Because getting medical supplies out of a tree requires the right equipment, and you definitely do not want to keep your patient waiting because of a bundle that is hung up.

    The aircraft could also just drop another medical bundle, but if that one gets hung up in the trees or gets lost in a river or destroyed by enemy fire, it will be equally problematic.  So it pays to have some back up tree climbing equipment just to be prepared.  That is how we did it in the smokejumpers. I realize that most of Afghanistan is not that bad tree-wise, but for those areas that guys are operating in where trees are tall enough, it is something to think about.

    Another idea is to use UAV helicopters for the task. If you want to put medical supplies on the ground and with precision, use something like that.  That’s if it is too dangerous or the conditions suck for manned flight into that spot.

     But going back to the time frame for this.  Imagine how many folks have already died, just because this capability was not in place?  I say do a couple of test runs to figure out the right kind of packaging for the load, and start this program immediately. You could get this done in a week or two, and not wait until January of next year.  Lives could be saved because of it. –Matt

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GPS-guided parachutes may soon drop blood, medical supplies to wounded troops in Afghanistan

By MARK PATTON

August 11, 2010

WIESBADEN, Germany — GPS-guided parachutes soon could be dropping blood supplies to medics on the battlefield, cutting down the time life-saving medical supplies reach wounded troops.

The military already uses the technology to deliver food, water and ammunition to U.S. forces in remote parts of Afghanistan. Now, the Armed Services Blood Program is working with an Army research center to put blood and other medical supplies under the parachutes instead.

If testing goes as planned, the system could be up and running by January.

Troops needing blood on the battlefield usually have to be evacuated and transported to the nearest medical facility. But evacuation is not always possible when units are under fire or if the weather prevents an emergency vehicle from traveling.

That’s when the Global Position System-guided parachutes can be a lifesaver and allow a wounded servicemember to receive blood during the critical period following an injury, said Air Force Maj. David Lincoln, Armed Services Blood Program deputy director for operations.

“Instead of trying to extract the patient, we can drop a sustainment package to get them stabilized,” he said.

Typically, medevac teams try to get wounded troops to a military hospital within 60 minutes, the so-called “golden hour.” But last year, doctors told high-ranking military officials that it’s better to make sure patients who are wounded in battle zones get the best care possible, rather than simply be taken to the closest medical facility.

Using the Joint Precision Airdrop System — which uses special software to calculate wind data that is then passed along to GPS receivers located on the parachutes — troops can attach containers of blood to micro-lightweight parachutes that can hold up to 150 pounds. In addition to blood, other supplies such as electronic monitors, ventilators, and devices for brain injuries that can detect intracranial bleeding can be dropped into the combat zone. The packages will usually be loaded with O negative blood, because individuals with all blood types can receive it.

Lincoln said the system is especially important for Special Forces units that travel light and are often not close to a medical facility.

Currently, researchers are testing if the blood is affected by being dropped from an airplane. Navy Cmdr. Greg Cook, Joint Forces Command’s chief of Medical Concept Development, compared the package’s landing on the ground to that of “knocking something off your desk.”

“We compared the blood after it was dropped to standard analysis, (the drop) didn’t affect it any…the shelf-life would be the same as before it’s dropped,” Lincoln said.

Blood is able to be used up to 42 days after it’s collected from a donor.

Cook said the smart parachutes can be dropped by fixed wing, rotary wing and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We’re designing these to be high-altitude delivery,” said Cook.

The GPS can be programmed for the parachute to land in an area the size of an average backyard, something Cook said is important, especially in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.

“If I miss by several hundred feet, I could be on the other side of the valley,” he said.

Story here.