Medical Need:

While several diagnostic technologies have been developed for analyzing frostbite injuries, their primary role has been to help define the precise severity and extent of tissue injury. However, none of these technologies help to detect frostbite onset before it inflicts significant injury, which would allow individuals (including military servicemembers) to prevent permanent injury and ensure they remain in a healthy state.

RFD

Remote Frostbite Detector (RFD)

Vivonics is developing a portable, wearable optical system for the military that can non-invasively and precisely detect the onset of frostbite early, before injury occurs. The system is designed to transmit data to a medical team or superior officer, allowing them to remotely monitor the condition of servicemembers and provide treatment or remove them from the field if there is a danger of permanent frostbite injury.

In addition to preserving the health and operational readiness of military servicemembers, the Remote Frostbite Detector will benefit any profession that deals with exposure to cold weather, from firefighters to forest rangers to winter athletes.

Disclaimer: The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 808 Schreider Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in the amount of $3,476,377, through the Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program under Award No. HT9425-23-1-0874. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Defense.

(Award HT9425-23-1-0874 is titled Remote Frostbite Detector (RFD))

Product under development, not yet FDA approved