VCOM View Vol 10 No 1

realism of the patient interaction,” said VCOM-Auburn Class of 2020 student Dominique Ferguson, one of White’s HERT Vest collaborators. “The HERT Vest enables learners to prepare for high-acuity procedures performed in emergency medicine and master many of the steps that stabilize patients and save lives,” Ferguson added. Development and Testing of Prototypes White got to work constructing a prototype of the vest, assembling the first version in August of 2018. White subsequently experimented with many different materials while fine-tuning parts of the vest. White had help from several VCOM- Auburn students, including Kyle Nielsen from the Class of 2020, who helped White cut and form several early designs. Another critical member of the team was a 12-year-old 3D printer whiz kid, Simon Vance, who prints anatomically correct larynxes and humeral heads for the vests. In March of 2019, the first HERT Vest prototype was tested successfully in the snow during an avalanche simulation at the VCOM Mountain Medicine Conference in Utah. White noted the benefits

of developing the vest while future simulations loomed in the distance. The vest added the necessary level of realism to trauma simulations. This motivated White to continue improving and refining the product. In April of 2019, four prototype vests were tested at the third annual VCOM-Auburn Disaster Day mass casualty simulation. Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama, were on hand to observe VCOM-Auburn’s disaster simulation. The vest was later demonstrated to Brolinson and Skip Garner, PhD, VCOM’s Associate Vice Provost for Research Development, at the VCOM-Auburn Research Recognition event in April of 2019. Also, that month, White began the patenting process with VCOM’s Intellectual Property Office, including consultant Mike Miller. In May, the vests were once again put to the test during the second annual VCOM-Auburn Rescue Race, a 10- mile wilderness medicine adventure race. In November of 2019, a provisional patent was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the HERT Vest.

VCOM Mountain Medicine Conference

VCOM-Auburn Disaster Day Drill

VCOM-Auburn Rescue Race

VCOM-Auburn Via Research Recognition Day

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