The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has tapped the services of Raytheon Intelligence & Space to develop an artificial intelligence tool for use in medical procedures.
Dubbed Medical Assistance, Guidance, Instruction, and Correction (MAGIC), the device will assist combat field medics in performing up to 50 skills needed in common medical interventions.
Augmented reality goggles will be used to track tasks and guide medics in treating and operating injured personnel correctly and efficiently.
It will reportedly be equipped with more than 2,500 videos to provide 3D data and nearly 50 million images to identify the correct sequence of procedures.
Built-in cameras on the device will be able to observe the user’s actions, and the artificial intelligence will verify if the correct steps are being taken.
Raytheon plans a demonstration of the new tool in 18 months. All data and information collected will be available to the research community.
The Goal
Raytheon scientist Brian VanVoorst said that the primary objective of the MAGIC tool program is to support medical personnel by providing guidance without disrupting their concentration.
He explained that the tool is crucial in today’s “challenging and chaotic” combat medical environment.
Apart from visual overlays, the headset will provide audio suggestions regarding the next steps in a procedure, follow-on actions, and critical measurements.
With its combined visual and audio capabilities, the MAGIC tool is expected to increase the proficiency of combat field medics and help reduce treatment errors in challenging environments.
Raytheon said it would collaborate with Valkyries Austere Medical Solutions on the program.