Life Saving Interventions in Blackout Conditions Using Night Vision Technology: Come to the Dark Side

Introduction During military combat operations and civilian night-time aeromedical transport, medical providers are frequently required to perform life-saving interventions (LSIs) in low-light environments. Because definitive surgical care is often delayed until a white light environment is permissible, we sought to determine if night optical device (NOD) technology could enable surgical capabilities in blackout conditions. Methods Using a cross-over design, 6 surgeons performed 11 different procedures on 6 swine, 3 in normal light conditions (LC) and 3 in blackout conditions (BC) using two-chamber NODs after familiarization with the procedures in both conditions on manikins. Successful completion and procedural times were compared between groups. Results Blackout conditions were confirmed with ambient light reading of 0.2llux during BC vs 3962.9lux for LC (p

from Emergency Medicine via xlomafota13 on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2H5Lq8U