This week the top contributors to military medicine will come together to discuss the ever-changing landscape of combat casualty care at the 2011 Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care conference. Col. Dallas Hack, director of the U.S. Army Combat Casualty Care Research Program kicked-off the conference Monday morning welcoming attendees to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. with the purpose of collaborating for the sake of military medicine.

The event is the military's premier scientific conference; where more than 1,300 attendees will participate in sessions, exhibits, as well as a poster competition on a variety of topics relevant to military medicine. Key topics to be discussed include: pre-hospital care, surgery/resuscitation, operational medicine, orthotics/tissue injury, and neuroscience.

Of those topics, pre-hospital care is a primary focus with several sessions dedicated to the importance of en route care. Invited speakers as well as a panel of experts will cover information such as en route care procedures, airway selection, and pre-hospital blood use. These topics further confirm the military's commitment to providing rapid and effective treatment to battlefield casualties all in an effort to reduce mortality rates and decrease response and recovery times.

The poster competition will take place Tuesday and Wednesday with an awards ceremony Thursday. Presenters from academia and industry will showcase their research on key conference topics. Additionally, more than 50 vendors and organizations will be in attendance. Exhibit hours will be held from 9:30 a.m.' 9 p.m. on Monday, from 9:30 a.m.' 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9:30 a.m.' 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

In the past, the ATACCC conference has had a primary focus in Army medicine. This year however, marks the beginning of a joint focus on military medicine as members of the Army, Air Force, and Navy will be on-hand to share their medical expertise.