Trauma Innovation unites healthcare professionals across Europe to discuss future of patient care

Trauma Innovation expands to enable civilian and military healthcare professionals to improve care on the battlefield and following mass casualty incidents

Across the globe, the threat level for international terrorism is high. The unpredictable timings and locations of the recent atrocities in Belgium, France and Germany have highlighted how important it is for medical professionals to be prepared for mass casualty incidents.

It’s not just civilian care providers that are under pressure. An escalation in the fight against terror across the Middle East has seen military forces, from numerous countries, frequently engage in dangerous missions. As a result, healthcare professionals are regularly treating patients who have been badly injured during fighting or by explosive devices.

Technologies and strategies to save lives and improve patient care are higher on the agenda of healthcare professionals than ever before. From 27-28 September, A&E consultants, doctors, surgeons, paramedics and intensive care nurses from across Europe will come together at Trauma Innovation in Birmingham to discuss the future of patient care and ensure they are prepared for future incidents.

Responding to the increased demand from healthcare professionals for new equipment, which will enhance clinical capability, and training and highlighting the number of international suppliers providing pioneering solutions for trauma care, Trauma Innovation’s organisers have today announced the expansion of the event’s exhibition.

With initial floor space sold out two months ahead of the event, visitors will now be able to source equipment from a total of 30 businesses – an increase of 20% – including the likes of Philips, Orthofix, Siemens Healthcare, Diamedica, National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Advanced Blast & Ballistic Systems, TyTek Medical and INMM.

Robert Neighbour, Managing Director of Diamedica, commented:

Anaesthesia plays an essential role in trauma handling. Our unique products can make a real difference in the most challenging situations. Trauma Innovation is an event that will enable us to present our solutions to the specialists responsible for delivering care to victims, both from a humanitarian and military perspective. By participating, we hope to have a positive impact on the way patients are treated in the future.

Alongside the exhibition, a host of leading international experts have been confirmed as speakers in Trauma Innovation’s conference programme. Run in partnership with Defence Medical Services (DMS) and Orthopaedic Research UK, sessions will focus on musculoskeletal complications, as well as delivering the latest academic research on ballistic and blast injuries which will help shape the future of trauma care delivery.

On day one, following an opening address from Brigadier Tim Hodgetts CBE, Medical Director at DMS, academics from Cranfield University will reveal invaluable information on ballistics, giving clinicians a deeper understanding of firearms and the associated wounding mechanisms.

Focusing on providing care to victims of explosions, experts from Imperial College will discuss the physics of blast waves and the challenges that pelvic and spinal injuries present. Meanwhile, Surgeon Captain John Sharpley, Defence Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry at Defence Medical Services, will provide unique insights into the long term social aspects of injured patients.

Day two of the conference will be opened by Surgeon Vice Admiral Alasdair Walker OBE, Surgeon General of the Ministry of Defence. Throughout the day discussions will be held on how military medicine may look to pre-traumatic or “left-of-bang” interventions; if big data and sensor technologies can support clinical decision making and optimise patient care; and how virtual, augmented and mixed-reality can support future mission planning.

General Anne Sailliol, Chief of the French Military Blood Institute at the Ministère de la Défense, will also examine the use of dried plasma in trauma, while Dr. Jospeh Wenke from the US Army Institute of Surgical Research will explore complex injury mitigation strategies. Elsewhere, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander Tim Bonner, who has completed a number of tours, will use clinical data to describe different patterns of injuries based upon skeletal fracture morphology.

Duncan Reid, Event Director of Trauma Innovation, commented:

Incidents across the world have shown the importance of having the facilities and capabilities to care for those who have been severely injured, whether that’s in a hospital or at the scene itself. The sourcing of advanced technologies and sharing of information between military healthcare professionals and their civilian counterparts is vital to this and that is what we will facilitate at Trauma Innovation.

Trauma Innovation will take place at Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, UK from 27-28 September.