OUCH! A detailed simulation of a human leg injured by flying shrapnel, gushing blood and all, could help train medics for real combat situations.
The video simulation was created by at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues. The main challenge was to solve the governing equations of fluid dynamics and tissue mechanics to show exactly what happens with real injuries. The virtual leg has realistic bone, muscle and skin, along with a vascular system that drives the flow of blood gushing out of damaged arteries and veins.
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The team hopes to eventually develop the simulation so that it runs interactively in real time, allowing trainee medics to administer treatments such as a tourniquet and see a realistic reaction immediately.
鈥淲e鈥檙e genuinely hopeful that our simulations will enhance the educational experience for medical trainees,鈥� says Eldredge. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 really pleased just to get visceral reactions from my kids. That probably makes me a horrible father.鈥�
The work was meeting of the American Physical Society last week and if you鈥檝e got the stomach for it, you can watch the video at .
(Image: UCLA)
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淟eg gushes blood in gory simulation鈥�
