Under pressure: Just-in-time medical resupply in austere environments
Competitive Projects
Up to $1.2M in phased development funding to propel technology forward
The challenge
The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) are seeking innovative solutions that can provide efficient and effective just-in-time medical resupply of common medical equipment and devices in austere environments.
What IDEaS provides
Funding of up to $200,000 will be provided for innovative solutions to help advance this defence challenge over a performance period of up to 6 months. There is a potential opportunity for further funding of up to $1 million for a performance period of up to a year should the solution be found successful and promising by DND/CAF.
What innovators bring
Solutions that demonstrate the ability to be transportable by land, sea or air, using commonly available vehicles, aircraft or standard commercial means, utilize battery power and battery power back-up systems, and function in austere environments.
Results
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Challenge
Background and context
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how fragile the global supply chains of medical devices and equipment can be; resulting in global shortages and prolonged wait times on orders. These issues are particularly concerning for the CAF’s deployment of medical support services including field hospitals, which rely on access to limited medical equipment and, depending on the location, a challenging logistical re-supply chain.
To address these challenges, the CAF is seeking the means to use technology that would allow for just-in-time resupply of medical equipment and devices. In doing so, there would be improvement in the CAF’s ability to deployable medical support services, decreased cost/footprint for stockpiled medical materials, shorter wait times for necessary medical devices, and the ability to perform life-saving procedures in instances where there is a shortage of critical medical equipment.
Essential outcomes
Proposed solutions must meet the following requirements:
- Be transportable by land, sea or air using commonly available vehicles, aircraft or standard commercial means;
- Be able to utilize battery power and battery power back-up systems;
- Be able to function in environments below 10 degrees Celsius and above 30 degrees Celsius); and
- Where applicable, the medical device/equipment and any other medical supply items must have a valid and active medical license issued by Health Canada.
Desired outcomes
Proposed solutions should include capabilities such as, but not limited to, the following:
- There is a provision of technical training of on how to navigate the various menus, systems and sub-systems and how to repair, calibrate, and troubleshoot the system and its peripherals;
- There is a provision of operator training to include the knowledge necessary to navigate the various menus, systems and sub-systems, including basic troubleshooting;
- Provide contact information of telephone or virtual technical support during regular business hours;
- There is an availability of parts or replacement; and
- In the case where a power source is needed, it can use either 120V or 240V power sources.
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