The Electronic Technologies Caring for Our Armed Forces
November 11, 2024
There’s a Keystone in every great invention.
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People the world over fall silent on November 11 in recognition of the sacrifices made for their respective nations. Born out of the armistice that brought an end to the fighting on the Western Front of World War I, the first Armistice Day in 1919 would see the nations affected by ‘the war to end all wars’ remember the fallen on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month - in line with the timing of the armistice. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Armistice Day in the United States was expanded to mark the contribution of all veterans serving the United States. The holiday would be renamed Veterans Day and declared a federal holiday in 1954.
As we honor those who have risked their lives in the interests of the United States of America, technology plays an important role in how our veterans are cared for both on deployment and in their return to civilian life.
Saving Lives in the Field 
The use of electronic communications for medical purposes dates back to the Civil War as telegraphs were used to coordinate patient transport and communicate casualties.
The concept of what we now know as telemedicine first appeared on the cover of a 1924 issue of Radio News. The image of a child having his pulse measured while a doctor appeared on screen seemed far-fetched 14 years before the first commercially available television sets.
This form of remote care would come to fruition over the next century, with military applications demonstrated along the way. The U.S. Armed Forces’ first foray into telemedicine as we know it today came in the 1990s.
During Operation Desert Storm, CT scans were sent from evacuation hospitals in Iraq to Brooke Army Medical Center (Texas) via satellite. This technology was then employed in Somalia to allow doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Washington D.C.) to interact with patients at the 86th Evacuation Hospital in Mogadishu. The war on terrorism at the turn of the 21st Century saw telemedicine expand to include several specialist areas, reducing the need for medical evacuations in non-emergency situations.
In the past five years the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency has begun use of a new tool called Medical Hands-free Ultra-wideband Broadcast (MEDHUB). The series of wearable sensors takes the concept a step further on the battlefield, allowing for real-time data to be sent from evacuated patients to field hospitals. The system includes a handheld tablet to help accurately track and communicate vital signs, information from medics, and record medications administered in environments that may prohibit voice or written communication.
MEDHUB has been found to save vital time, giving awaiting doctors further notice and time to prepare. For medics in the field, the system can also help with conversions for dosing drugs to ensure care is given as soon as possible and at a standard deserving of our fighting men and women.
Caring for Veterans at Home
Telemedicine has grown in civilian life with many insurers offering free telehealth services, while adverts for telepsychiatry providers are a common sight across our screens. These services are vital to veterans who are dependent on care by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA).
In 2021, more than 2.3 million veterans utilized the VA telehealth services. These services connect veterans with VA facilities that may be difficult to travel to, particularly for a specialist need that may not be available at a local facility, or in the case of disabled veterans.
Remote services also allow for family members to be included in sessions and ensure on-demand help for mental health or pain management issues. Even some forms of rehabilitation can be conducted remotely, such as combining wearable sensors with a video link to conduct prosthetics training for amputees.
The technologies developed on the battlefield benefit all of us, but it’s important to ensure that these innovations continue to aid service members after their duty has ended.
A wide range of Keystone products are utilized in the technology that helps care for our active duty personnel and veterans including: : Battery Clips, Contacts & Holders; LED holders, spacers and lens caps; fuse clips and holders; PCB test points and terminals; spacers and standoffs; panel hardware and PCB plugs, pins, jacks, and sockets
Keystone Electronics Corp. is proud to be a corporate partner of the Gary Sinise Foundation. To partner with a foundation that supports the future well-being of the men and women who have served in America’s armed forces is a privilege and an honor for our company.
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