The Centre For Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) and Indian Military Review organised the Night Vision & Electro-optics India 2023 seminar and exhibition in New Delhi on 5 Jan 2023.

The aim of the seminar was to bring together all the stakeholders in discussing and resolving issues pertaining to building night vision capability of the Armed Forces. ‘Divyadrishti’ as highlighted by Kautilya is equally applicable in today’s scenario for battlefield transparency in land, sea and air in all wars for triumphing the observation part of OODA loop. The Night Vision and Optronics devices provide the capability to the soldier for finding, fixing and finishing activities of the war fighters and enhance their observation, detection, identification and killing capabilities. Unprecedented proliferation of dual use technology facilitates innovative employment of night vision devices. With mobiles in use, now each and every citizen has turned into intelligence sensors. The focus areas of the warfare these days include large borders and huge weather challenges; therefore whoever controls the night will win the battle. The night vision devices are true force multipliers and need to focus on mass effect not the forces. With the changes in technology bringing in Artificial Intelligence for imagery processing and see through armour and focus on obscurance – aerosol and active decoys, the focus on night vision devices will increase manifold in times to come. The users, private industry and DPSUs must come together to create an environment, which overcomes the procedural bottlenecks and ensures self sufficiency in this field, which will also be aligned with the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

Eminent speakers underscored the salience of situational awareness in the emerging Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) matrix and how Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives are critical in major defence areas having potential for defence exports by India. There are 46 ongoing projects worth over Rs 47,000 crore, where the industry is engaged with the Indian Army. The Army Design Bureau has been energized as the lead agency together with the various directorates to take the initiatives ahead. The requirements for the night capability have been shared with the industry. Night fighting assumes added importance since surprise and deception are better achieved during the hours of darkness. CI/CT commitments demand constant vigil along the LC, LAC and in the hinterland.

Sizeable investment in this cutting edge technology area is essential and to address infiltration and enable military operations. Investments in border surveillance equipment, BFSR and weapon mounted sights is paramount. The need for II sights for short ranges and TI sights for longer ranges is inescapable. Night sights are being provisioned for frontline troops as per a phased roadmap. There is a need to indigenise EO sights with a realistic cost factor, incorporating latest technologies through a public private partnership. Industry must assist in evolution of service QRs based on emerging technologies, provisioning of simulators for modern training infrastructure, research and development efforts, explore fusion of II and TI technology, innovation of light weight equipment and compact power sources. There is a need to exploit the IDEX and TDF schemes, with accelerated timelines, with enhanced synergy between industry and users.

DRDO labs have provided several solutions for Electro Optics and there are many products under induction, to include weaponisation of HHTI, Project Dharashakti and Driver’s Night Sight. Recent advancements in II technology and digitised battlefield call for advanced EO System requirements (ie, range, field of view and recognition capabilities). There is a need to overcome challenges to empower our Armed Forces, so as to reduce weight and size of night vision devices for effective data and image fusion. The trends point towards Combat Goggles and future weapon systems, C4I2SR and exoskeletons. EO Systems under development include Optical Shields, Handheld Ground Penetrating Radar (HHGPR), Vehicle Mounted Ground Penetrating Radar (VMGPR) and Through Wall Imaging Radar (TWIR).

Major Issues Discussed in the Seminar

The seminar provided a platform for sharing visions, capabilities, challenges and solutions as follows:-

•  The DRDO and industry highlighted their capabilities and the ability to produce innovative solutions, especially the following to meet the requirements of the forces:-  

(I) Latest night vision technologies and challenges.

(ii) Infra Red (IR) detection for defence applications.

(iii) Products and solutions in Electro Optics.

(iv) Artificial Intelligence (AI) in surveillance.

(v) Contribution towards self reliance in thin films and night vision optics.

• The services highlighted their NVD and EO requirements, especially for Infantry, Artillery, AFVs and Army Aviation. The process of trials of NVDs by Directorate General of Capability Development, IHQ of MoD (Army) was also explained in detail for the benefit of the industry representatives.

• Challenges in border management at night were highlighted by the BSF representative.

Armed Forces Requirements

Infantry Requirements. The Infantry requires II+TI sights and devices for assault rifles and LMGs, TI sights for MMG, AGS, Snipers and 84 mm RL. A mix of PNVG, PNVB, HHTI and HHTI (UC) form part of these requirements. In times to come, the user seeks indigenisation of critical technologies (to include TI Sensors, Micro Channel Plates (MCP) and Fire Control System (FCS)) to improve technical thresholds (Figure of Merit (FoM), Graphene, AI), development of fusion technology (TI and II) and in house R&D by the production agencies.

Army Aviation Requirements. The Army Aviation projected the requirement of light weight, long lasting, all weather panoramic NVGs, with colour symbology, superimposing mission symbols on outer scenery with common Heads up Display (HUD) accessories for day and night flying and NVG simulators and dark rooms.

Mechanised Forces Requirements. The following requirements for AFVs were highlighted:-

(I)   Combined day/night EO sights for NSVT 12.7 mm Gun operated remotely.

(ii) Head Mounted Displays – Real Time Zero Latency Video Feed – See Through Armour, Common Operational Picture for crew, Holistic Battlefield Management System (BMS) – integration with Identification of Friend and Foe (IFF)/Situational Awareness (SA), so as to attain 360 degree close hatch fighting capability in diverse operational situation and varied terrain.

(iii) Local situational awareness – automated processing with fusion technology.

(iv) Recce Troop – night enablement for 7.62 mm armament.

(v) Integration of EO Feed from three dimensional assets (smart sensors) for Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) capability.

(vi) Technology induction – enhanced operational effective AFVs – Manned – Unmanned Teaming (MUMTs)/integrated surveillance and target systems.

(vii) Survivability – adaptive camouflage, Multi Spectral Camouflage Nets (MSCN).

Artillery Requirements. The Artillery and SATA requirements projected were as follows:-

(I)   Ultra long range Electro-Optic Devices.

(ii)  Higher resolution (Ultra High Definition (UHD), High Definition (HD)) for better identification capability.

(iii) Integration of multiple sensors (IR, Short Wave Infra Red (SWIR)/Medium Wave Infra Red (MWIR), LRF) for all weather surveillance.

(iv) Surveillance and targeting capability at higher ranges.

(v) AI enabled change detection, alarm system and auto generation of target profile.

(vi) All weather, more robust, light weight with better ergonomics.

(vii) More options of communication-wireless, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) and video.

(viii) Remote control at larger distances to save manpower.

(ix) Integration with battle surveillance system for online analysis.

Air Force Requirements. The Air Force needs night vision devices to meet its multiple operational roles. Laser Range Finders (LRF) are required for target range determination and target sighting. The following night vision device requirements were highlighted:-

(i) Be platform specific, with optimised weight suitable for platforms, meeting desired power and cooling requirements.

(ii) Have multi spectral capability.

(iii) Have light weight, compatibility, commonality, good visual acuity, all weather operations capability, mission recording and playback system for digital video recording and mission debrief tool.

(iv) Indigenisation is desired, so as to have reduced Turn Around Time (TAT) for repairs and reduced OEM dependency.

Indian Navy Requirements. The Navy projected the following night vision devices requirements for its maritime environment, ship borne, airborne and special naval operations:-

(i) Sensors and weapons to operate in marine environment under all weather conditions.

(ii) Special propagation conditions in terms of scattering, absorption and contrast.

(iii) All round 24×7 surveillance, detection and tracking.

(iv) Stabilisation – Roll/Pitch/Yaw.

(v) Military standards to withstand harsh marine environment.

(vi) Interface with ships systems (combat management system) for generating targeting solution for weapons.

(vii) Detection of all kinds of targets (to include surface ships, small crafts/submarine periscope, aircraft (Fighter/Maritime Reconnaissance (MR)/Helo/ (viii) Multi-spectral devices for assured performance under all conditions of propagation and target characteristics.

(ix) Integrated LRF to assess the range of target.

(x) Helmet mounted NVDs with four tube and four eyepiece configuration for better field of view. Additional features of ‘Auto Gating’ and ‘White Phosphorus Display’ were explained.

(xi) NV Monocular – NV capability for single eye with ocular for the other (Gen III and above).

Border Security Force. The border and battlefield night vision requirements projected include Thermal Weapon Sights, PNVDs, Weapon Alternative Processors (WAPs), IR Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) Cameras, Good Night Vision Pay Loads with Drones, Optical Target Locating System for detection of snipers, fog penetration radar devices and foliage penetration radar devices.

Industry Capabilities

The industry has the capability to meet most of the border and battlefield requirements.

The industry showcased its capability to make most of the products required by the services in the short term. Tata Advances Systems Limited (TASL) presented their products and solutions in EO Domain to include Remote Control Weapon System for 7.62 mm LMG, Stabilised EO solutions and uncooled TI based handheld systems.

Work is in the pipeline to meet the evolving and future needs of IAF.                       

For the Indian Navy, numerous key technologies to deliver the required specifications have already been harnessed. The industry was hopeful of meeting the evolving and the future Naval requirements and development of systems accordingly.

Sourcing of few components such as, Integrated Circuit (IC) tubes, are still ex import and involve large lead time. Atmanirbhar route could drive technological transformation for which Industry is ready to be the key enabler.

TASL presented their products and solutions on Sighting System for AFVs, Remote Control System for 12.7 mm guns and Stabilised EO System.

IRDE showcased Driver Night Sight for T-90 tank for fused technology based on uncooled TI technology and its Laser Fence.

TASL presented their products and solutions on Multi Long Range Surveillance Platforms – RAJAK ULR-25, Advanced System of LORROS, lightest in its class, detection of vehicles in excess of 32 km with high definition sensor version of it and Direct Fire Sight for Artillery Guns.

R&D Imperatives

In order to meet the medium and long term requirements of the services, especially through the Atmanirbhar route, adequate R&D needs to be undertaken, so as to meet these needs indigenously.

R&D in futuristic technologies needs to be funded and the pace needs to be accelerated.

The development of NVG simulators is inescapable and needs to be progressed expeditiously.

Joint ventures for the current technology and future upgrades are essential. IRDE may transfer the existing capabilities on ToT to private industry and focus on futuristic technologies. OEM mandated production and repair procedure need to be replicated. Strong R&D base and indigenous technology are essential. Training on simulators and live/ sectionised equipment is essential to improve skill sets.

There is a need to combine means for enhancing surveillance and get the latest technology either developed in house or by ToT from other countries. 

Integrated capability development plan is essential, wherein, all common equipment for border and battlefield surveillance (including for military and CAPF) needs to be procured by one service, duly considering commonality and standardization, which will lead to cost cutting.

Key Takeaways

Salient takeaways which emerged during the course of the seminar are as follows:-

•  The Indian Industry, DRDO and PSUs have the desired capability to meet most of the current requirements of the services, which needs to be exploited, especially the IRDE capabilities for Electro Optics solutions. Few gaps in capabilities need to be addressed in a synergised manner with participation of DRDO and Private Industry together, especially in areas of multi spectral fusion, miniaturization, autonomous functioning, long battery life and integration with command and control elements using AI.

•  The Atmanirbhar push demands handholding of the Private Industry, which must be encouraged by providing access to in-service equipment/assets and futuristic requirements need to be shared to find innovative solutions.

•  The users essentially desire equipment, which are affordable, adaptable, have ability to be absorbed into existing systems, with modularity, replaceability and repairability. Although Army Design Bureau and various directorates have spelt out the Army’s night vision equipment requirements, these need to be reviewed periodically on emergence of new technologies. The Air Force and Navy too need to regularly share their night vision equipment requirements. The user must formulate realistic GSQRs, based on leading edge technologies to allow faster growth and assist the forces in acquiring the latest equipment with spiral development approach. There is a need for infusion of investment and technology at all levels and greater synergy between all the stake holders. Such synergy and interaction will help demonstrate equipment on offer, share DRDO/OFB/Private Labs for testing and refinement and sharing IP rights to accelerate R&D.

• Sources of some of the critical equipment and spares (such as TI Sensors, Micro Channel Plates and Fire Control System as still ex-import and involve a large lead time. Therefore, indigenization of such critical technology is essential. Following recommendations were made to promote indigenization of such technology:-

(i) Realisation of the timelines in Positive Indigenization Lists (PIL).

(ii) Import of defence equipment to be done only as an exception.

(iii) Encouragement to Indian MSMEs by providing regular incentives.

(iv) Making the military infrastructure available to the industry for testing.

• The future needs demand improvement of technical threshold (FoM, Grephene, AI), fusion of II and TI technology, vision devices, surveillance devices, miniaturization (smaller and lighter devices), loiter munitions equipped with night vision capabilities, to out range the adversary (in detection, identification and recognition fields), cryogenic cooling technology, rearward streaming of every input and its utilization in real time and integration of Geo-referencing/Geo-fencing in night vision devices. The futuristic night vision technology will comprise of enhanced and dual sensor night vision devices for which continuous research and in house R&D by the production agencies are key. The evolving night vision technology for platforms needs to be based on affordability, ability to get absorbed into the existing and futuristic systems, durability, wireless technology, image compression, image fusion to facilitate provisioning of realistic images to the users. Sizeable investment in cutting edge technology and dual use technology development is essential through effective public private partnership and may help in optimum evolution and utilization of latest technology. The Private Industry needs to be encouraged, strengthened and supported with enhanced and assured funding to meet these requirements. IDEX and TDF schemes and other innovations and initiatives need to be exploited to reap dividends.

• There is a need to have the optimum capability of de-camouflaging military objects by use of appropriate devices to achieve penetration through the camouflage. Use of technologies to overcome limitations of camouflage and weather, especially fog and foliage was highlighted by all the users and industry was asked to come up with innovative solutions.

• Night Vision Simulators and modern training infrastructure are needed by all the three services.

• Issues related to in house image processing algorithms, sharing of source code by indigenous vendors, indigenous content verification at the level of Army Design Bureau need to be resolved by the services.

• All stake holders need to meet the timelines stipulated in the procurement process. Existing payment processes are usually slow and need to be improved.

The Ministry of Defence should drive the night vision capabilities, associated GIS and network requirements through a tri-service/joint overarching philosophy and hand hold the industry.

The post Event Review—Night Vision & Electro Optics India 2023 appeared first on IMR.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented, worldwide pandemic that has been compared to the Second War and 1918 Spanish Flu in terms of the impact on human behaviour. Latest technologies for healthcare are playing a crucial role in keeping our society functional in times of lockdowns and quarantines and augmenting the medical support to the Armed Forces of India during pandemic times. The main focus related to COVID-19 was on three medical activities: diagnaosis, surveillance and prevention. Digital healthcare technologies such as in Telemedicine, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality/ Augmented Reality and Robotics are the latest developments in this field and the Armed Forces and healthcare workers must leverage these.

Introductory Session

Recently Indian government launched Digital Health Mission to address some of the major challenges in terms of the health, infrastructure, health records, pharmacy services etc. Cloud computing in healthcare industry presents the possibility of military healthcare to synergise and coordinate these activities and technologies. Role of technology in healthcare includes preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative to incl EHR, diagnostics, reaching the unreached through telemedicine, wearable devices and monitoring systems, using AI algorithms to reduce errors and combat medical care. Biggest problem is our systems of education, research and healthcare. Telemedicine and remote medical care are possible ways of dealing with the situation wherein evacuation is not possible, especially when moving the casualties by road in bad weather conditions and in areas like Siachen Sector North.

In the first session, the Opening Address was given by Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, Director CENJOWS. The Inaugural Address was given by Lt Gen Bipin Puri, Former DGAFMS and Vice Chancellor of King George Medical University. The Keynote Address was given by Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar, DCIDS (Medical), HQ Integrated Defence Staff.

COVID-19 and Novel Initiatives

In the second session on Covid-19 and Novel Initiatives, under the chairmanship of Air Marshal (Dr) Pawan Kapoor, Former DGMS (Air), the Keynote Address was delivered by Lt Gen Daljit Singh, Director General Medical Services (Army). Gp Capt TVSVGK Tilak, Professor (Medicine) & Medical Oncologist, AFMC, spoke on “Covid-19 care – Initiatives taken by the Armed Forces” and Mr Dilip Patil, Founder Director of Trivector Group spoke on solutions provided by his company.

The Nation’s health nearly infrastructure collapsed during the COVID pandemic. Virus has impacted almost 243 Million people across the globe with almost around 4.95 million deaths. The Armed Forces, mainly Medical Services have been glittering examples of taking up the challenges of COVID pandemic. AFMS came together to support the initiative of diagnostics, especially point of care devices and by reaching the unreached through telemedicine.

Remote Health Monitoring

In the third session on Remote Health Care, under the chairmanship of Lt Gen Anup Banerji, Former Director General Armed Forces Medical Services, the Keynote Address was delivered by Lt Gen Sanjay M Londhe, Former Director General Dental Services. Maj Gen Aftab Alam, Asst Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical) spoke on “Remote Health Monitoring Technologies.”

Never before has remote monitoring gained so much relevance as during the pandemic. Large number of cases, risks of infections to the health care workers and non-availability of beds, led to reliance on remote monitoring. Remote Health Monitoring techniques can also be used for patients with neurological diseases, Alzheimer’s/ Parkinson diseases, cardio problems, diabetes etc by using gadgets/ sensors ie smart watch, smart vest etc. By predicting hemorrhage, through remote monitoring, the life of a soldier can be saved, which is a major cause of loss of life in combat conditions. For oral monitoring, the main advantage of connectivity is that the person can be at home, which can improve the people’s care at home, reduced chair time and visits. This will allow more efficient use of clinical resources, better screening and diagnosis.

Smart and Connected Healthcare Enabled by IOT

In the fourth session on Smart and Connected Healthcare Enabled by IOT under the chairman: Lt Gen CS Narayanan, Former Dy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff  (Medical), the Keynote Address was delivered by Surg V Adm N Chawla, Director General Medical Services (Navy). Air Cmde Shankar Subramanian, Air Cmde AFMS (Planning & Training), Dte Gen of Medical Services spoke on “Smart and Connected Healthcare Enabled by IOT.”

Internet of things, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence have revolutionized health care making it more efficient, more convenient and more personalized beyond smart watches. Embedded, implantable or ingestible sensors can monitor everything be it cardiac arrest, baby’s heartbeat etc and they can be programmed to administer medication. They can predict health trends across the cultures and countries. AI is used in patient care, research and administration and logistics. AI/ IoT are here to stay and we need to scale up the equipment so that we can use these technologies.

Medicare Under Special Conditions

In the last session on Medicare Under Special Conditions, under the chairmanship of Maj Gen Ravi Arora, Chief Editor Indian military Review, Col SS Roy, Col (CBRN), HQ Integrated Defence Staff spoke on “Medical care of CBRN casualties” and Brig A Jairam, Prof of Nephrology, St John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, spoke on “Advances in High Altitude and Extreme Cold Climate Areas.”

The threat of CBRNe casualties is real as these weapons are being used worldwide be it Chechnya, Beirut, Tokyo, etc. CBRNe casualties can be chemical casualties, biological casualties, radiological casualties, nuclear casualties or a combined casualties, ie, chemical, biological or radiological with concurrent traumatic injury. There could be psychological casualties in which the patient has anxiety, stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), etc. As far as high altitude and cold climate areas are concerned, problems of chill blain, frostbite, HAPO exists. Understanding high altitude physiology is very important to deal with HAPO, AMC/HACE and acclimatization. Diamox assisted rapid acclimatization is feasible.

The Closing Remarks were given by Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar, DCIDS (Medical), HQ Integrated Defence Staff. The Vote of Thanks was given by Maj Gen Ravi Arora.

Challenges

Certain challenges which were highlighted in the webinar are elucidated below:-

(a) Education. Studies are going on in each Service how to incorporate new technology in medicine. However, impact of Tri Services optimization for theatre led integration is need of the hour.

(b) COVID Hospitals. Collaboration with other Govt agencies and Private stakeholders, infrastructural shortcomings like shortages of beds, House Keeping Staff and crowd management, workplace ergonomics for staff ie doctors, nursing attendant, nurse etc and integration of protocols and SOPs with the civilians.

(c) Teledentistry. Acceptance of teledentistry by dentists and patients and resolution of legal issues remains a challenge.

(d) Monitoring. Accuracy of data and informational integrity, intentional/ unintentional wrong data entry and more importantly data privacy/ cyber security incl service attacks. The most common defense against denial of service attacks is redundancy, but in a healthcare environment, it may be difficult to provide this defense because many of these monitoring devices are deeply embedded into critical life care systems.

(e) Patient Care. Patient does not have all the information about doctors. Hence, motivation/ willingness of the patient is most important for effective use of the technology.

(f) Medical Records. Medical Records of Armed Forces are stored in multiple formats, both paper and computer. The data of PME and various physicians’ opinions is collected in a decentralized manner and organized poorly. Treating physicians don’t have access to patient medical history hence there is a need to have the Electronic Health Records (EHR).

(g) Manpower Issues. COVID pandemic highlighted the shortcomings of manpower, both in quantity and quality. Manpower issues make it hard to handle data, create time pressures and pressure of EHR.

(h) Ownership and Accountability. Data access, backup, data storage, data recovery etc are major problems which the armed forces have to deal with. Accountability of health care provider, standardisation of data, data exchanges and ownership of the health care data needs to be institutionalized and an elaborate and formal policy on the same must be evolved.

(j) Costs. Interoperability amongst multiple components and recording continuous data of the patient requires more people, which will result in high costs.

(k) Portable Devices. Portable devices should be understandable, trust worthy and should not get disturbed in the battle field conditions.

(l) Connectivity Issues. Connectivity issues will definitely increase the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots and particularly in the field of health care.

(m) Privacy Issues. In countries like South Korea, they were monitoring COVID patients almost continuously on a 24 by seven basis through smartphones. Such situations create privacy issues.

(n) Problem of Nurses. Nurses spend 70% of the time, filling 45 to 65 registers/ databases on a daily basis and 30% time is being spent on patient care. This leaves the nurses and the patient deeply dissatisfied.

(o) CBRNe Casualties. Against the requirement of huge logistics support for evacuation and management of casualties, there is no trained manpower, decontamination of casualties, non-availability of commercial facility for production of CBRNe equipmenpts/ drugs, no definitive antidote treatment, no hospitals which are geared up CBRNe casualties. Most of the labs are not capable of detecting biological agents/ toxins.

(p) High Altitude Areas. Prolonged deployment (because of Chinese intrusion) in Ladakh sector of 6 months or more has not been studied. The troops may have to stay for two years and this is not given in the AO 110/80. Another problem is thrombosis in the brain, heart attack, stroke etc which is happening to young soldiers in high altitude.

(q) Casualty Evacuation. Casualty evacuation is always a challenge in high altitude and is a lifeline in high altitude.

(r) Army Aviation Challenges in High Altitude Areas. Lying patient cannot be carried in Cheetah/ Chetak, helipads with ALH capability are limited in forward locations.

Recommendations

Certain recommendations are given below:-

(a) Genomics. The rising focus on developing genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics will be the next step forward and we must, like all other superpowers, focus some of our resources on research in this area.

(b) Research. Develop a Research Wing within the AFMS for military medicines. Our research needs to be very focused and National Digital Health Mission is great step towards for health issues.

(c) Brain Storming Sessions. Brain storming sessions at each level to identify gaps and conduct focused research along with the local commanders.

(d) Collaborate. Collaborate with the Industry for implementing technology in a time bound manner.

(e) EHR. Electronic Health Records will open new opportunities for healthcare professionals and the patients.EHR is moving at a very slow pace but this will have to be at a disruptive pace. We need to move rapidly towards EHR with a top-down approach.

(f) Unconventional Warfare. To be prepared for unconventional warfare ie CBRNe warfare, facilities and equipment need to be scaled up.

(g) Mental Wellbeing. Mental wellbeing needs to be considered for rehabilitation. Hence, National Digital Wellness Platform ie MANAS (Mental Health And Augmentation System) will be launched by Scientific Advisor, in collaboration with AFMC Pune, C-DAC Bengaluru and NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

(h) Education. The feedback system for education must be developed to rapidly evolve the curriculum for any upcoming technologies and training all healthcare workers to be comfortable using them.

(j) Interoperability. Medical services of armed forces ie Army, Airforce & Navy needs to be integrated. Defence Digital Health Mission has made progress in the last year, and the study report is available in NHA. They are offering us the complete software package and the system will be a part of the same cloud and that the system will be secure.

(k) Software. We are developing indigenous software, iOS and android version is ready. It is at the beta stage.

(l)  Technical Capability of Healthcare Workers. We need to improve the technical capability of our health care workers.

(m) Emergency Powers. During the COVID times emergency powers in DFPDS were given to Indian Armed Forces for procurement as a result PPE, Ventilators, Fumigation Machines, Mobile Oxygen Systems, Oxygen Generations plants etc were procured from indigenous vendors and also vendors from various countries incl New Zealand, Germany etc. These should be enhanced/ reviewed.

(n) Nano Strike Technology. Nano Strike utilizes a comprehensive range of physical concurrent pathogen inactivation processes, working in unision at the nanosecond level, to dis-infect the air. As these processes happen simultaneously, many millions times per second, it seems to the human eye that a virus, bacteria or fungi is obliterated in one deadly strike. Novaerus Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma differentiation has been tested and proven effective. The machine costs in the range approximately is Rs 2 lakhs to 10 lakhs, for a 400 sq ft room.

(o) Teledentistry. It uses a Live Video and it facilitates dental care, guidance, education or treatment. It has proved to be beneficial for remote dental screening, diagnosis, consultation and proposing treatment.

(p) Internet of Things. It uses sensors and software for the purpose of collecting and exchanging data, IoMT and IoDT etc. This data could be used in eventual risk assessment and research. This has revolutionised healthcare management via remote monitoring.

(q) Natural Language Processing.    We used to get 300 patients in OPD and they used to ask hundred queries which are extremely personal in nature. Hence, we identified about 100 common questions which are in the patient’s mind, made a video, converting to the Indian languages. By using the Natural Language Processing, the algorithm would choose the most appropriate video, which is likely to answer the questions of the patient.

(r) Problem of Nurses. Use conversational, artificial intelligence in which a tab is given to nurses and she keeps a small checklist to ask the patient and she uses the tab to enter data through voice and the records are maintained automatically.

(s) Collaborate with the Industry. IoT based/ AI based algorithm by which we are able to connect all these devices, hence we need to collaborate with the industry for all these technologies.

(t)  Benefits of Remote. Patient Monitoring. Benefits incl the personalized and detailed health information to the care provider, faster access of health services to the patient, enabling early detection of deterioration, reducing emergency visits/ hospitalization and more importantly reducing load on overburdened hospitals and clinics.

(u) Indigenous Solutions. We must procure the technology from an Indian vendor, not Chinese and all components must be indigenous. We must encrypt that data so that it cannot be used by anybody else. Standardisation for interoperability so that the two systems to communicate and share services with each other at the right time. We must have a communication protocol which the system follows. As regards the ethical issues, we must have consent as to who can see the data, with whom he shares the data and the device protocols should be there.

(v)  CBRNe Casualties. Est robust surveillance system to detect bio and chem agent, BSL-III Labs should be est, govt should designate more hospitals for CBRNe Cas, educate public about basic CBRNe survival drills, and ensure commercial production of CBRNe eqpts/ drugs and introduce basic CBRNe curriculum at Sr Sec School/ Colleges.

(w)  High Altitude Areas.     

(i)   Medicines. Acetazolamide (Diamox)/ Dexamethasone tablets for prevention and treatment of AMS. For preventing cold injuries, Alocalie Aloe Vera Cream (50%) with Vit E is a good cream.

(ii)  Misc.    

(aa) Stretcher. A Stretcher has been developed, through which you can actually drag the cas across. The suggestion is that it can be a electronic/ battery operated stretcher.

(ab) Hyperbaric Oxygen. Successful treatment of frost bite with hyperbaric oxygen treatment and hyperbaric oxygen chamber has been commissioned at Hunder near Siachen Glacier which will save a lot of limbs.

(ac) Hypertension. High altitude deployment has induced systemic hypertension in the past in which pulmonary artery undergoes contraction, becomes tight and causes pressure to go up in the pulmonary arteries. Such events require more studies in high altitude areas.

(ad) Out of Box Solutions. Eight hours of oxygen every day to a soldier. Each bed in the shelter has one such cylinder (jumbo cylinder of 24000L, catering for a week) which is refilled. It is used where there are shelters along with the electricity. The soldier has a peaceful sleep at night and he is ready for the next day. Study must be conducted on this project.           

(x) Army Aviation. Helipads without ALH capability in forward locations needs to be upgraded to become ALH capable.

Conclusion

The webinar covered the entire spectrum of military medicines from the past, the present and the future. We need to close the gaps between education, research and health. Military medicine in India has done some of the pioneering work, be it discovery of malaria, to the original description of high altitude, pulmonary edema, etc. All these reports were prepared by military medicine specialists. Hence, we need to prepare a list ie pinpoint the things that came out from this discussion that need to be taken on by the leadership on a mission mode with delivery in mind.

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