WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Md. — Inspired by a concept found in the “Star Trek” television show, scientists and videogame designers have joined forces to build an immersive simulation that will replicate realistic battlefield and field hospital scenarios to train combat medics and surgical teams.
The goal is to combine 3-D images, Hollywood-style effects, props and live actors, and a range of computer-controlled medical mannequins into an integrated “holodeck-like” experience, said Alan Liu, director for virtual medical environments at the National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center.
The simulator — called the wide area virtual environment, or WAVE — will consist of two pods about 20 feet in diameter that are connected by a 15-foot long corridor. Nine-foot tall and 12-foot wide movie screens will surround the resulting 1,000-square foot space and will display stereoscopic images that trainees wearing polarized glasses will see. During exercises, participants will have to hunt for live “victims” among the humvees, boxes, debris and other props scattered on the backlit floor.
A speaker system will deliver directional sound effects, such as flying bullets, screams and explosions, while smoke-generators and other special effects will create the appropriate levels of chaos for the scenarios.
“You will be completely immersed inside a video game,” said Liu.
A team of up to 18 people can train together in the simulation during a sustained period. The idea is to use one pod to simulate a single phase of a scenario, such as the aftermath of an explosion, and then have the team evacuate casualties along the corridor to the other pod, where the next scenario, such as a helicopter transport, would be ready to play.
Once all the actors have left the first pod, it would be reconfigured for a third scenario, so that by the time the individuals in the helicopter “land” and move back through the same corridor, they would enter a completely different scene, this time that of a field hospital.
“You can alternate the pods and you can keep changing the scenery so that you can carry it on for an extended period of time,” said Liu.
So far, less than 5 percent of the final system resides inside an 8,000-square foot room of warehouse-like dimensions. There are currently three screens set up and running with two projectors each. The plan is to upgrade the system to 24 projectors by June so that each screen will have eight projectors and improved brightness.
The simulation center does not have enough funds to complete the project. The initial three screens and projectors cost $200,000. The team estimates it needs $6 million to fully build the system, which will have 18 screens and 144 projectors. Future funds are expected to come in the form of grants.
“Computing technology today is cheap enough that you don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars to build something like this,” asserted Liu. Instead of purchasing a $60,000 high-end projector that is typically used in a digital theater, the project managers are buying off-the-shelf home theater-type projectors and arranging them in an array.
“If we had the funds today, we could probably get it done within a year and a half to two years,” Liu said.
As it stands now, the simulation is functional as a prototype with a mass casualty and evacuation scenario that is set in Baghdad.
Next month, the center plans to conduct its first rehearsal for a small team of five to 10 people from an Army National Guard unit. Liu hopes to collect enough hard data during the exercise to show the simulation is an effective way to train people.
“This is a new concept. People need to be convinced that it will work,” he said.
Meanwhile, efforts will continue on the WAVE and its various scenarios. Jennifer Sieck, a 3-D medical illustrator at the center, is designing a simulation of Balad Air Base in Iraq, where casualties will be treated.
“You’re making a huge video game for the most part,” she said.
Liu hopes that the simulations will have applicability throughout the military health care system.
The WAVE fills a gap in collective training in the medical arena. “Medicine is a team sport. There is a lot of interaction going on, and a bunch of people put together at random will generally not perform as well as a team that has been practicing together for a while,” said Liu.
Down the road, the WAVE potentially could be used for civilian chemical-biological readiness exercises, he added. The simulation could pump smoke and other elements into the training area to allow first responders to practice using their detection equipment.
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