The IBEX system stabilizes lower-leg injuries such as tibia fractures while bearing the service member’s body weight. The Army said the device could support self-evacuation, reduce risk to fellow soldiers and help units remain engaged in combat operations.
The system weighs seven pounds and is collapsible, making it easy to carry and quick to put on. It offers an alternative to traditional litter evacuation, which can require two to four service members and a supporting security team.
By allowing injured soldiers to move themselves to safety, IBEX is intended to keep more troops focused on the mission. The Army said the system could also improve survivability by reducing the number of personnel exposed to enemy fire during casualty evacuation.
Because it is more portable than a litter, IBEX can be used in difficult terrain, including dense woods and rocky mountainsides. The system has also survived a 400-foot drop by a cargo drone to a waiting service member on the ground.
IBEX bears a warfighter’s body weight while isolating movement of the injured limb from the frame. This helps relieve pressure on soft tissue, nerves and blood vessels to reduce pain and prevent further damage.
The system is also designed to allow an injured service member to carry out military actions. These include dropping to and rising from a prone firing position.
The IBEX addresses a long-standing battlefield challenge, according to Dr. Lee Childers, senior scientist at the Extremity Trauma and Amputation Center of Excellence Military Performance Lab at the Center for the Intrepid, Brooke Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas.
“In combat, troops suffer tibia fractures, torn knee ligaments, high-grade ankle sprains, and foot fractures; these are the most common but survivable battlefield injuries,” Childers said.
“The IBEX enables more walking wounded, which means more warfighters putting bullets downrange while providing a smaller target for enemy drones to attack,” Childers said.
The IBEX system includes a telescoping lateral frame, a harness to hold the hip, a thigh corset, a knee joint, a fracture splint around the lower leg and a walking boot with a rocker-bottom sole. The full system collapses and is wrapped in the thigh corset into a package comparable in size to a one-litre water bottle.
The Army, Navy and Marine Corps have successfully tested the IBEX system in field trials. The project began in 2020, is now in its third round of funding and has developed a fifth-generation prototype, with each version smaller, lighter and more functional than the previous one.
IBEX has been licensed by a commercial partner. Work is continuing to bring the device to a final prototype suitable for manufacturing and commercial production.
The system was developed for prolonged field-care scenarios in austere conditions where evacuation may be delayed or unavailable. Lower-leg trauma injuries can result from gunshot wounds, bomb blasts from improvised explosive devices, rugged terrain, unstable ground, remote areas and adverse weather.
An IBEX can be transported to the injury site by unit medics, fellow warfighters or drones. The Army said this could be especially useful when conventional evacuation methods are difficult or dangerous.
U.S. warfighters suffered numerous lower-leg injuries during operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts. These injuries left wounded service members and their units vulnerable.
Between 2001 and 2018, deployed service members suffered more than 22,000 non-amputated lower-leg injuries, according to a study published by the National Library of Medicine. Those injuries included more than 3,500 to the knee, nearly 9,000 to the lower leg and ankle, and close to 3,000 to the foot and toes.
The study found that about 68% of all extremity injuries were open wounds or fractures. The next round of IBEX testing is planned by the EACE research team at the Center for the Intrepid early next year on outdoor training grounds near Brooke Army Medical Center.
