“Treatment Dust”: The Future of Nanotechnology in Large-Scale Disasters

1.Background: Large-scale-disasters typically result in scarcity of medical resources and correspondingly require effective casualty care/triage management and increased performance of individual care providers with variable experience and at lower costs to significantly minimize preventable morbidity and mortality. Nanotechnology aims to advance the formulation of materials and manufacture of devices by controlling matter at the scale of 1–100 nanometers. Nanoinformatics describes the application of computer technology, information science and molecular simulations to organize, interpret, and predict the structure and physico-chemical properties of nanoparticles and nanomaterials. Nanotechnology has the potential of adding significant value to disaster response teams by providing a range of tools for disaster response teams ranging from lightweight and miniaturized diagnostic and biological detection devices to mini-robotics that assist disaster response team triage in response to massive casualty.

2.Objective/Purpose: The objective of this presentation is to educate participants about the value that nanotechnology provides for assisting disaster response teams administer effective trauma care to disadvantaged populations impacted by large-scale catastrophic events.