|
|
 |
MedSMART and the
War on Terrorism
2001-09-20
MedSMART offers its unique training capability as a part of the national
volunteer effort to assist national authorities in search and rescue efforts
in New York
On the 11th of September 2001,
the United States experienced the worst assault since the Pearl Harbor.
Thousands of lives were lost in the terrorist act of unprecedented ferocity.
The barbaric action aimed at the disruption of everything the United States
stands for, failed miserably. Instead of paralyzing a nation, it united
the world in the common desire to get rid once and forever of the darkest
forces known to humanity.
Immediately following the attack
on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the authorities involved in the
rescue effort were offered of volunteer help coming from all over the
USA. MedSMART was among the organizations that offered such assistance.
Our unique capability of training medical personnel at a distance was
put at the disposal of the Headquarters of the American Red Cross to provide
just-in-time simulation-based refresher training in management of blunt
trauma, acute respiratory distress, and mass casualty triage to all medical
volunteers immediately prior to their deployment to ground zero. Human
Patient Simulators located at MedSMARTs training facility in Ann Arbor,
MI were graciously put at our disposal by Laerdal, Inc. The machines would
serve as the remote training platforms linked via interactive video-link
to the training location in the neighborhood of Ground Zero in New York.
The training staff, multiplexed ISDN lines, and all other necessary resources
were provided by MedSMART. The entire training program was ready for operational
deployment within 30 hrs of the disaster, i.e., at the time when the first
wave of the rescue personnel was reaching limits of their physical endurance.
Ultimately, our help was not
needed. The wounded were expertly treated by the medical personnel of
New York, and only the grim task of recovering the dead still remained.
The fervent hope of finding survivors in the twisted and charred rubble
did not materialize. Together with the rest of the Nation, MedSMART offers
its condolences to the families and friends of those who died or were
injured in the heinous acts of unprecedented violence and barbarism. Together
with the rest of the Nation, MedSMART stands ready to offer whatever services
it may provide in order to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. Our entire
staff and all our training resources stand at the disposal of the Armed
Forces of the USA and her allies. We are ready to assist in the development
and execution of any type of specialized medical training to assure continuous
medical readiness of the National Guard, law enforcement, and EMS agencies.
We are firmly convinced that
the war on terrorism declared by President George W. Bush and supported
by the continuously growing number of allied nations will be successful.
History has clearly demonstrated that freedom and democracy do not surrender
to the dark forces of oppression and fanaticism. Once upon a time, the
leader of another great nation facing the onslaught of the Nazi war machine
defiantly stated that It is not the end. It is not even the beginning
of the end. But, perhaps, it is the end of the beginning. The beginning
was imposed upon us on the 11th of September 2001. We, the civilized world,
will bring that beginning to a victorious end. It will not be easy, and
it will not happen overnight. But it will be definitive. MedSMART started
its pioneering career in a fighting vessel of the United States Coast
Guard, the USCGC FORWARD. The name was prophetic FORWARD. So was the
pendant number 911. But the motto of the Service under which we then
sailed, SEMPER PARATUS, applies today not only to the U.S. Coastguard.
It applies to the entire Nation SEMPER PARATUS. This is the land
of the free and we shall not be vanquished. Some made the mistake of calling
for Jihad against America. Ours is not a Jihad against peoples or nations.
We have declared Jihad against terrorism and we shall not rest until the
war has been won.
|
|
|
|
AFTER SEVEN YEARS, DAG VON LUBITZ RETIRES FROM MedSMART
|
| |
|
Ann Arbor, MI; The Chairman and Chief Scientist of MedSMART, Dr. Dag von Lubitz, retires from his active involvement with the company on the 1st April 2008. Under the leadership of von Lubitz, the company pioneered simulation-based advanced distributed learning (ADL), and subsequently deployed worldwide several routine education/training programs aimed at 1st Responders and medical personnel working in field, pre- and in-hospital settings. MedSMART also pioneered distributed, global-access simulation-based training for medical military personnel, and was the first to employ the concept of Medical Application Service Provider (MedASP) in multinational, transatlantic training in counter-bioterrorism measures. Von Lubitz transformed the company from a leading-edge, simulation-based training organization delivering worldwide educational content to an international think-tank devoted to the analysis of advanced technology and delivery platforms in medical training, homeland security, and disaster management operations. During his tenure at MedSMART, von Lubitz was the first to introduce then apply the principles of network-centric operations in non-military activities. Selected publications that present MedSMART's operations conducted during the period of his association with the company are accessible at this web-site (see Publications link). Von Lubitz will continue his association with the company as a consulting scientist. Mr. Howard Levine, B.Eng., will act as the Interim Chairman of MedSMART. Laureate of City of Laval Prize in Technology, Mr. Levine serves currently as the Executive Vice President and Director of Operations at Digital Realm, Inc, a highly successful next-generation company specializing in broadband internet access and data, video telephony and video delivery service over IP networks. Following education at the University of Michigan and a career as a cameraman in several feature films, Mr. Levine concentrated on the development of interactive e-commerce Web-based systems for some of the major companies in the USA. Mr. Levine played a critical role in the development of telemedicine systems at the University of Michigan. In addition to his leadership functions at Digital Realm, Mr. Levine is actively involved in the development of new methods in simulation-based distance medical education, and in the development of telemedical telecommunication platforms suitable for use in the Third World and in other technologically impoverished regions of the globe. Mr. Levine is the co-author of several peer-reviewed papers devoted to these topics.
Under direction of Howard, MedSMART will continue on its path of innovation and change initiated by von Lubitz.
|
| |
| |
|
The uses of High-Fidelity Patient Simulators have been expanded through the highly innovative training program developed by MedSMART and the Italian group from the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine at the University of L'Aquila, Italy, led by Francesco Gabbrielli, M.D. During the course, final year medical students of the L'Aquila School of Medicine were trained in the management of trauma emergencies that require rapid surgical decision making and perisurgical patient management.
|
| |
| |
|
MedSMART and the College of Health Professions at Central Michigan University (CMU) conducted the first ever distance-based simulation refresher course for First Responders. The main purpose of the program - founded on the simulation-based principles championed and extensively tested by MedSMART - was to provide analysis of logistical issues pertinent to the routine training of U.S. prehospital personnel in the combined environment of High-Fidelity Patient Simulation, Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) and Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS).
|
| |
| Nobel Laureate, World-Renowned
E-Learning Expert, and Citrix E-Ambassador
Join MedSMART Board.
|
|
|
| The international commitee of jurors awarded
the Laval Virtuel Prize in Medicine and the City of Laval Prize
to MedSMART for the use of simulation and IT technologies in
distance education and training in medicine. Considered the
equivalent of the golden palm at the Cannes film festival, the
International Laval Virtuel Prize is awarded for achievement
in virtual reality and information technology. The City of Laval
Prize is awarded for the international impact and significance
of the project.
|
|
|
Laerdal, Inc. assists MedSMART in creation of a new concept in simulation-based medical education and training.
|
|
|
MedSMART offers its unique training capability
as a part of the national volunteer effort to assist national
authorities in search and rescue efforts in New York
|
|
|
MedSMART is proud to announce Dr. Oleg Orlov
as the new member of the company's Board of Trustees. Dr. Orlov,
a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the
Director of the Russian Telemedicine Foundation, joined the
Board in September 2001.
|
|
|
MedSMART and Digital Realm, Inc. are proud
to announce their partnership in developing new solutions to
the problem of training large numbers of dispersed medical personnel
using remote access to Human Patient Simulators
|
|
|
MedSMART, Inc. is pleased to announce the premiere
of www.med-smart.org
|
|
|
A remotely controlled Human Patient Simulator
located at the facilities of MedSMART, Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI,
was used to train personnel in L'Aquila, Italy in execution
of life-saving emergency medical procedures
|
|
|
|
|
|