Developing a head-mounted display to help emergency medical services give the right medications to children.

Augmenting the On-scene Medic (ATOM): Development of a head-mounted display application to reduce prehospital pediatric medication errors

NIH-funded research Western Michigan Univ School of Medicine · NIH-11053586

This study is developing a special headset app to help emergency medical workers give the right medicine to kids, aiming to make sure they get the correct doses and reduce mistakes during treatment.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionWestern Michigan Univ School of Medicine NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Kalamazoo, United States)
Project IDNIH-11053586 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

This research aims to create a head-mounted display application that serves as a cognitive aid for emergency medical services (EMS) to reduce medication errors when treating pediatric patients. The project will involve analyzing the factors contributing to medication administration errors, designing a prototype application through a user-centered approach, and testing its usability and effectiveness in a controlled trial. By addressing the high error rates in pediatric medication administration, this innovative tool seeks to enhance the accuracy of drug dosing in emergency situations.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates for this research are pediatric patients who may require emergency medical services for medication administration.

Not a fit: Patients who do not require emergency medical services or those who are not pediatric patients may not benefit from this research.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this research could significantly reduce medication errors in pediatric emergency care, improving patient safety and outcomes.

How similar studies have performed: While there have been previous attempts to reduce medication errors in EMS, this approach utilizing advanced technology and a comprehensive design process is novel and has not been extensively tested.

Where this research is happening

Kalamazoo, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.