The country’s military simulation and training industry gathered in Orlando this week for its largest-ever annual trade show, and one thing became clear: Defense contractors have heatlhcare in their crosshairs these days.
From combat medic training and 3D virtual surgery to high-speed data systems, simulation and training companies are trying to take their military training technology into a vast new marketplace – the nation’s healthcare system.
Lockheed Martin Corp. engineer Richard J. Boyd demonstrated a virtual intensive-care unit at the annual Interservice-Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference at the Orange County Convention Center.
“We believe that technology like this can help make a huge dent in the spiraling costs of the nation’s heatlhcare system,” said Boyd, a virtual systems engineer for Lockheed’s Orlando-based high-tech training unit. “We think this kind of technology can be part of the solution of the healthcare crisis.”
The potentially lucrative medical training market has lured major contractors such as Lockheed as well as a host of smaller businesses that specialize in healthcare training. Many hawked their high-tech wares at the event’s Healthcare Pavilion – the first time in its history the trade show has showcased medical technology.
“Simulation technology in healthcare has been an exploding field in recent years,” said John Williams, a spokesman for the National Simulation & Training Association, a Washington trade group that sponsors the event.
Simulation companies are focusing on healthcare as a viable new business, as defense budgets are expected to tighten in the coming years, he said. Williams added, however, that high-tech training is expected to weather the defense cuts in good shape because simulation training helps save the military billions of dollars a year.
The trade show, which runs through Thursday, attracted 600 exhibitors this year – the most in its history. Nearly 20,000 industry representatives and military officials from around the world are expected to attend. The event is no open to the general public.
December 01, 2010|By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel