Army eyes operating room in a box.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: Tech Talk - Brief Article

Army officials at Fort Detrick, Md., are checking out a novel telemedicine test bed, developed by Y12 National Security Company at Oak Ridge Reservation, Tenn. The 8-foot by 8-foot by 20-foot operating room is packed in a standard shipping container. When needed by medical personnel in a combat zone, it can be deployed at the push of a button, the company claims.

The system runs off a 24-volt battery, standard in most military vehicles. After being activated, the shipping container morphs into a rectangular room in one and a half minutes, explained an Army spokesman. "It looks like a cicada coming out." The prototype operating room, which was designed from scratch, also has built-in...