June 28, 2023: Thornhill Medical signs Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR)

TORONTO, 28 JUNE 2023 — Thornhill Medical is pleased to announce it has recently signed a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) with the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR). This MTA enables Thornhill Medical to provide ISR with their proprietary MOVES^® SLC™ life support system, with supporting hardware, software, and training materials so that ISR can evaluate its potential for use as part of a semi‐autonomous platform for comprehensive hemodynamic management of combat casualties in life‐threatening hemorrhagic shock.

“We are pleased to support the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in their efforts to unlock crucial advances in combat casualty care,” says Lesley Gouldie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Thornhill Medical. “This collaboration reflects our shared commitment with the military for technological advancement, extending critical care capabilities in the most challenging of environments and saving lives on and off the battlefield.”

The ISR is the Department of Defense’s primary laboratory for developing solutions to trauma and critical care challenges for combat wounded. The Research Directorate partners with hundreds of academic, industry and allied nation military laboratories to perform basic, translational and clinical research to advance the care of the injured patient. The ISR research team is led by Principal Investigators Drs. Eric Snider and Evan Ross.

A micro-integrated technology that combines an oxygen concentrator, a unique O₂-conserving ventilator, suction and complete vital signs monitoring into a single, portable, battery-powered unit, MOVES^® SLC™ promotes medical device interoperability and is equipped to accommodate emerging capabilities and technologies such as remote and autonomous operation.

“Addressing the resource demands of casualty care in multi-domain and large-scale combat operations requires continuous innovation,” says Derek Watt, VP, Field Operations and Thornhill Medical’s project team lead. “The integration of mechanical ventilation, oxygenation and vital signs monitoring functionality in MOVES^® SLC™ provides a life-support platform upon which advanced autonomous capabilities can be seamlessly integrated and further developed. This aligns with The Army Futures Command Concept for Medical 2028 where medics and healthcare providers can work independently, when specialty care, and medical oversight, may not be readily or physically available.”

The new MTA builds on Thornhill Medical’s continuing support of the development and modernization of military medical technology. In 2022, through an award from the U.S. Department of Defense Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC), Thornhill Medical’s MOVES^® SLC™ was deployed in a collaborative research project that explores technologies that can safely meet critical care demand using remotely controlled and eventually autonomous medical devices, in preparation for prolonged care in near-peer multi-domain conflicts. Watch the demonstration here.