Battlefield medicine is moving toward adoption of several new technologies to both improve the quality of care and protect healthcare providers. One example of this trend is use of the Life Support for Trauma and Transport (LSTAT) patient transport litter in combat conditions. LSTATs are sustaining lives on land, in the air and at sea from Alaska to Iraq. LSTAT was recently introduced into the nation's largest trauma center, Los Angeles County Trauma Center, where initial indications are that LSTAT not only helps save lives, but also helps save money. LSTAT has been deployed to 28th and 31st CSH in Iraq and Afghanistan and with a Navy amphibious assault ship. This includes LSTAT systems currently deployed with National Guard units in Alaska and Hawaii. LSTAT systems have recently been deployed with Special Operations teams in The Philippines, Cambodia and elsewhere. Military medical teams are being trained on the use of the LSTAT system at the Navy Trauma Training Center at Los Angeles County as well as University of Southern California (USC) Trauma Center. The 207th Alaska Army National Guard (ARNG) reports aeromedical rescue using the LSTAT system. The Alaska ARNG was tasked by 11th US Air Force to medevac a 70-year old male in Toksook bay with respiratory failure. The civilian air ambulance was not capable of flying due to high winds in Toksook Bay. The ARNG in Bethel was tasked and transported the patient in stable condition using the LSTAT. The patient was transported from Toksook bay to Bethel and his life was saved. Johnson and Pearce conducted a study where thirty-one anesthesiologists and recovery room nurses compared the LSTAT with conventional monitors while managing four simulated critical events. The preliminary evaluation of LSTAT in simulated and postoperative environments demonstrated that the LSTAT provided appropriate equipment to detect and manage critical events in patient care [1].

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