Applying a tourniquet is a life-or-death situation, so the U.S. Army has high hopes for a new kind of tourniquet training on the battlefield that involves a high-tech mannequin — or at least a part of one.

The service’s Research Development & Engineering Command (RDECOM) has developed a prototype limb called “HapMed” that is designed to allow medics and combat lifesavers — and perhaps eventually any soldier who might come under fire — to practice the critical lifesaving action in both a classroom situation and on the front line. For now, HapMed is limited to arms, but command officials say they hope to expand that to include legs and possibly an entire mannequin. The goal is to make it a vital item in the Army’s repertoire of portable training equipment at a low cost.

“You wouldn’t need to buy the whole mannequin, just the piece that your company maybe can afford at that time,” said Todd Lazarus, a research scientist and electrical engineer at the Institute for Simulation and Training, part of the University of Central Florida, and a partner with RDECOM on the program.

Learning how to apply a tourniquet remains rather primitive in a high-tech world; training often involves applying a cravat on a piece of wood such as a 4-by-4. HapMed takes the instruction to a much higher level and includes game-based technologies.

With HapMed, trainees experience the actual torque needed to stanch bleeding from an extremity wound. Sensors located within the arm measure the pressure being applied, and LED lights on the limb indicate whether the bleeding is being slowed and finally stopped as the tourniquet is tightened. Loosen the tourniquet and the “bleeding” begins again.

Aside from the instrumentated limb, HapMed consists of a personal digital assistant and a computer to specify training scenarios. The PDA can be used to specify where the wounds lie, size of the casualty and whether the wound will require more than one tourniquet.

The PDA provides feedback on how the trainee is performing: how fast the medic took to apply the tourniquet, whether the tourniquet went to the correct location and the amount of torque applied. If the specifications set by the instructor on the PDA are not met, the patient “dies.”

The mannequin arm comprises three layers: a rigid inner core to simulate bones, a middle layer of urethane to resemble muscle mass and a silicon skin. Lazarus said developers want the limb to feel like real skin.

“You’ll be able to pinch it. You can press on it like this in your wrist where it will be extremely hard and yet extremely natural,” he said.

“You can set it for the hardest body type,” added Jennifer Fowlkes, a managing cognitive engineer for CHI Systems, which is also aiding in HapMed development. “If you can stop [bleeding] on this device, you have more confidence you can do it on the battlefield.”

Officials say HapMed’s use in training will be aided by its extensibility features. The arm can be used to test all kinds of tourniquets or to compare compression bandages for effectiveness. Administering intravenous fluids can be practiced on the device and the HapMed training system can be extended to include any number of wireless mannequin parts that can be used in other training skills.

Although RDECOM has targeted HapMed for medics and combat lifesavers, Fowlkes said its portability and flexibility could benefit all soldiers on deployment. “What we’re adding is scenario-based training using gaming technology,” she said. “The idea there is immersive training in a combat environment where he has to act if a soldier is hurt and still maintain his soldier responsibilities before becoming a medic.”

HapMed is being developed for the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in partnership with RDECOM’s Simulation & Training Technology Center as part of a small-business project. The Institute for Simulation and Training is located in Orlando, Fla., as is the RDECOM center, the other partner.

HapMed has been in development for about a year and a half, and the prototype was unveiled recently at a demonstration before U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Officials working on the device say HapMed needs to get out of the prototype stage and be developed commercially so it can be field-tested. Then, if adjustments are needed in its construction or the associated ruggedized PDA, it would be tweaked before reaching mass production.

For that to happen, a requirements document from Army Training and Doctrine Command is needed, said Michelle Milliner, a research assistant and public affairs officer with RDECOM.

How soon can medics use it? “We would have liked it to be in the field already,” Lazarus said, citing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.