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LSTAT/Snake Robot
Head: Howie Choset
Contact: Howie Choset (choset@cs.cmu.edu)
Mailing address:
Carnegie Mellon University
Robotics Institute
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Associated lab/group: Biorobotics
For more information, see this project's homepage.
The LSTAT (Life Support for Trauma and Transport) system incorporates many of the functions of an ICU, but is contained entirely within a stretcher. It houses a defibrillator, an oxygen supply, a ventilator, and various forms of physiological monitoring. It was built and developed by Integrated Medical Systems, Inc., and is currently in use in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are working with the US Army's TATRC department (Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center) to integrate a snake robot into the LSTAT system. It is our belief that a hyper-redundant manipulator such as our snake robot will allow medics to begin to examining and treating a wounded soldier even before he has been removed from the battlefield; and that it will do so with highly efficient use of space and a minimum of added weight. As most war-time fatalities occur due to loss of blood, the ability to begin treatment sooner could often make a critical difference.