Army contracts for wearable medical display

The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity this week announced that it awarded Microvision Inc. a $3.3 million contract for the initial phase in developing a mobile, wireless personal display system for medical applications.

The contract for the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center supports the Army's vision for a mobile medical system that will enable military surgical personnel and medics to read and transmit medical data via a head-worn display, wearable computer and wireless network.

Microvision will design, integrate and test a head-worn mobile display solution based on retinal scanning display technology. The display will be developed during the next 16 months and will incorporate work done on Microvision's newly completed design of the Nomad Personal Display System, said Rick Rutkowski, Microvision president and chief executive officer.

The Nomad Personal Display System is a high-resolution, head-worn display that combines the user's natural vision with an electronic information display in the user's field of view. The tool enables mobile workers to work "hands-free and head-up" in any lighting condition, allowing them to access information anywhere, Rutkowski said.

Rutkowski said the Army's concept "represents the future of battlefield medicine, and the future of personal information display." The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, Fort Detrick, Md., is the awarding and administering acquisition office. The contract was awarded Dec. 17.