Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Chief Master Sgt. Robert Bean, an Air Force pararescue jumper, demonstrates how BATDOK can be worn on the wrist, providing awareness of the health status of multiple patients. (Courtesy photo/711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate)Chief Master Sgt. Robert Bean, an Air Force pararescue jumper, demonstrates how BATDOK can be worn on the wrist, providing awareness of the health status of multiple patients. (Courtesy photo/711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        A pararescue jumper from the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron uses BATDOK in a mass casualty training exercise. (Courtesy photo/711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate)A pararescue jumper from the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron uses BATDOK in a mass casualty training exercise. (Courtesy photo/711th Human Performance Wing, Human Effectiveness Directorate)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

BATMAN’S friend, BATDOK, uses technology to save livesPublished Oct. 31, 2015
                    
                    By Kevin M. Hymel
                    
                    
                    Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs
            **FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AFNS) --**Imagine a future battlefield where an Air Force pararescue jumper treats seven wounded service members at once. He places sensors on their chests, arms and fingers, which immediately feed vital signs to a small wireless computer, no bigger than a cell phone, on his forearm.As he checks out the fifth person, his computer vibrates. He looks at the computer screen: the second person’s heart rate is dropping. The pararescueman moves back to the second person and performs chest compressions, saving their life.That future is not far off. Engineers with the 711th Human Performance Wing from the Human Effectiveness Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are working on exactly this kind of wearable technology to assist medics in the field.It’s called BATDOK (Battlefield Airmen Trauma Distributed Observation Kit), and it is part of a larger advanced technology demonstration program known as BATMAN (Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided Knowledge), which focuses on adapting technologies to dismounted Airmen.“Currently PJs treat patients one-to-one,” said Dr. Gregory Burnett, the program’s chief engineer. “Now we can have one PJ treat and monitor multiple patients simultaneously.”BATDOK runs on a smartphone but can transfer to any variety of devices. “If a PJ wanted to run it in the field, he could use it on a smartphone,” Burnett said, “or he could use it on a 10-inch tablet in a helicopter.”BATDOK includes wrist and chest mounts to make access to the device easier, although some PJs simply prefer keeping the device in their pocket.Wireless sensors placed on the patient send aggregated vitals to the computer screen, providing PJs the ability to make emergency medical decisions. Like a cellphone, the device can be set for three kinds of alerts: auditory, tactical or visual. The alerts notify the PJ not only to which patient is in danger, but also to his or her vitals.To develop this technology, the BATMAN research team worked very closely with PJs to identify what critical information the operators needed so the team could develop the most intuitive and effective interface.Burnett explained that there are three phases to the team’s work: interface, innovate and integrate. Through direct interaction with the operators, the team innovated a solution, and integrated it to the PJs’ equipment and mission needs.BATDOK does not just help during critical care. It keeps a record of all its patients’ vitals and other information. After a mission, a PJ could retrieve the data for a patient care report.“All those key medical care procedures are logged for better documentation of care,” Burnett said.It is also adaptable for improved technology. “We use FDA approved sensors,” said 1st Lt. Max Gabreski, a software engineer on the BATMAN team, “but if a new sensor becomes available, we find a way to quickly integrate the sensor into our system.”BATDOK could also be used on humanitarian missions, where a commander monitors a team entering an earthquake- or tsunami-ravaged area. “It could accommodate not just the military, but civilian needs,” Burnett added.Presently, BATDOK is being tested by Air Force Special Operations Command and Air Combat Command, and will be brought to decision boards soon. It is also being used in training scenarios at strategic locations around the United States.“It’s getting a lot of attention from the pararescue community,” Burnett said. “It’s a really effective system, capable of improving patient survivability not just in the Air Force, but the DOD and the civilians that it cares for.”BATDOK 



BATMAN 



medical 



health 



PJ Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                Kendall, Allvin, Saltzman urge modernization while warning Senate of delayed budgets
                    
                    Readout of Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s travel to the Philippines
                    
                    Air Force senior leaders visit Eielson AFB
                    
                    Air Force leaders focus on ACE during Kadena AB visit
                    
                    USAF senior leaders visit Mariana Islands on ACE tripInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil