Case Study
The sound of aircraft engines still echoed in the distance as the Burmese frontline surgeon worked quickly. In a hidden building near the frontlines was his patient – a 20-year-old man with a wound from an airstrike.
This wasn’t a hospital with pristine white walls or overhead surgical lights. Just a makeshift medical space in constant danger of being discovered. Within minutes, the doctor had transformed this environment into something that could save a life.
Debris from the airstrike had embedded itself in the young man’s upper body area – a particularly dangerous injury where infection could quickly become life-threatening.
The surgeon and his team deployed the SurgiField System made up of a small portable sterile surgical enclosure inflated with HEPA filtered air. Within minutes of deploying the SurgiField System, with a mobile phone providing lighting, they had established the unthinkable: a safe surgical field in the middle of an active conflict zone.
As artillery sounds continued all around them, the surgeon and the team worked with their hands inside the SurgiField’s protected environment. The transparent enclosure, the SurgiBubble, allowed visibility while creating a barrier against the debris and contaminants that filled the building.
For 15 precious minutes, he methodically debrided the wound, removing damaged tissue and foreign material that could have led to infection. The SurgiField system stayed in place for 30 minutes total. The surgeon later said that SurgiField was very easy to use during the procedure and did not hinder his visibility or accessibility.
After applying sterilized gauze to the wound, the surgical team packed away the Smart Control Module, battery and the Pop-up Frames – ready for the next emergency.
What makes the SurgiField System remarkable isn’t just its engineering – it’s how it meets the needs of healthcare providers in impossible situations.
For millions of people living in conflict zones worldwide, access to safe surgery isn’t just limited – it’s often nonexistent. Traditional solutions requiring existing infrastructure simply can’t reach these populations.
This surgical intervention in a hidden building in Burma shows another path forward: bringing the essential elements of surgical safety to the patient.
In a world that often celebrates technology for technology’s sake, the SurgiField System represents something different: innovation measured in lives saved under the most challenging circumstances imaginable.
For the wounded patient, for the front-line surgical team, and for countless others caught in conflict zones – this isn’t about disruption or technological advancement. It’s about surviving until tomorrow.
And sometimes, that’s the most important innovation of all.