iMEDCAP

In December, the project iMEDCAP, funded by the European Defence Fund, was kicked off. With its user-driven, holistic approach, the flagship iMEDCAP sets out to revolutionise the emergency detection, identification, extraction, treatment, and evacuation of gravely injured and possibly contagious personnel in a completely autonomous way.

Funded by the European Defence Fund (EDF) and in collaboration with a robust consortium of esteemed European partners, we are proud to announce the launch of the iMEDCAP project with its kick-off meeting held in Garching, Germany, on 13/14 December 2023. This innovative project, led by Technische Universität München as the Coordinator, brings together a diverse array of 24 organizations from 9 countries, uniting European expertise and resources to pioneer ground-breaking advancements in military healthcare and emergency response capabilities.

Over the last decade, significant progress has been made in the development of autonomous air and ground transport, detection technologies as well as (remote) medical interventions. These developments reveal both the potential and the necessity to modernize and adapt rescue systems to facilitate evacuation from complex and/or dangerous situations. Novel weapon technologies have led to several paradigm changes in the situation of ground forces, influencing the requirements for ad hoc medical support and transport logistics. In scenarios, decentralized medical support will be needed in a potentially hostile environment, including CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) threats. Current medical evacuation solutions are limited both in their available numbers and their usability in CBRN situations which contradicts the medical paradigm of the “golden hour” postulating immediate response to traumatic injury to guarantee the highest possible survival rates. A holistic and innovative approach is needed to enhance Europe’s preparedness.

In response to these needs, the user-driven concept of iMEDCAP sets out to design and develop a rescue system that facilitates the autonomous detection of injured personnel, the automatic definition of an evacuation and rescue strategy, and an initial treatment in an interoperable patient box, equipped with diagnostic and intervention equipment, during transport under remote control. iMEDCAP brings together partners from the armed forces, universities, small and medium-sized entities, and industrial partners, sharing their expertise in their research fields and advancing their technologies and know-how toward a sophisticated solution. The outcome of iMEDCAP will be the validation of the components and a roadmap for further development, laying the foundations for a modern and digital European rescue system.

While the iMEDCAP project is initiated in the defense sector, technical developments will reveal huge potential for intelligent solutions, facilitating autonomous rescue approaches not only limited to military scenarios but also covering civil emergency scenarios like wildfire or nuclear incidents.

The iMEDCAP project

The iMEDCAP project started on 1^st December 2023 and will run for 36 months. It unites partners from the armed forces, universities, small and medium sized entities, and industrial partners: Technical University Munich (DE), Armed Forces of Germany and Austria (DE, AT), Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology of the German Armed Forces (DE), Institute for Radiobiology of the German Armed Forces (DE), Sanitatsakademie Der Bundeswehr (DE), Autoflug GmbH (DE), Philips Electronics Nederland BV (NL), Philips GmbH (DE), Safran Electronics & Defense (FR), Avilus GmbH (DE), Composite Project Kft (HU), EMBENTION Sistemas Inteligentes SA (ES), GRABHER Group GmbH (AT), MGM COMPRO S.R.O. (CZ), MILREM Robotics (EE), VITALSIQ BV (NL), Sol1 (BE), SYNYO GmbH (AT), Virtual Vehicle Research GmbH (AT), Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (AT), Klinikum rechts der Isar der Technischen Universitat Munchen (DE), University of Stuttgart (DE), ARTTIC Innovation GmbH (DE).

iMEDCAP is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement Number 101121421.

About the European Defence Fund

The European Defence Fund (EDF) is a multiannual framework programme that supports competitive and collaborative projects through the entire cycle of research and development for a bigger impact on the European defense capability and industrial landscape. It promotes cooperation among companies and research actors of all sizes and geographic origins in the European Union and Norway, in the research and development state of the art and interoperable defense technology and equipment. More information to be found at https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/

Links

EDF iMEDCAP Factsheet: https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/iMEDCAP-Factsheet_EDF22.pdf

Keywords

Intelligent Military Capabilities, Defence, Medical support, CBRN threats, Cross-Border Cooperation, Sensors, Unmanned Vehicles, Robotics