Analysing data in real-time from AI-powered wearable medical devices has enhanced the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers.
It is helping medical personnel deliver personalised care based on the soldier’s medical history, condition, and available resources.
This is according to a new study.
An analysis showed that AI-powered wearables, including ECGs, glucose and blood pressure monitors, vital patches, and smart helmets, tracked vital signs and alerted medical personnel to health risks in 68 patients with gunshot and mine injuries.
Study author Evgeni Kolesnikov, of Shupyk National Healthcare University of Ukraine in Kyiv, said: ‘Although we don’t know the extent of improvement, there is clear, consistent and robust evidence that AI led to faster identification of life-threatening injuries, faster arrival of supplies and drugs, and stronger rehabilitation outcomes.’
The study showed that AI:
• Accelerated drug delivery: AI-driven clinical decision support analysed soldiers’ vital signs to recommend optimal drug dosing for shock, pain, or infection, Dr Kolesnikov said. AI triage algorithms also prioritised limited drug supplies like morphine, tranexamic acid, and ketamine for patients most likely to survive.
• Identified new treatments for injuries: AI analysed millions of chemical structures to predict which compounds could stop bleeding, prevent infection or accelerate wound healing in combat-related injuries. AI also helped identify existing anti-inflammatory drugs that could be repurposed to accelerate tissue regeneration after blast injuries, as well as identify biomarkers associated with poor healing, increased infection risk or organ failure.
• Supported artificial limb selection: AI is transforming how prosthetics are selected, fitted and personalised for wounded soldiers with limb loss. It can analyse 3D imaging scans of the damaged limb to help design and custom-fit components of artificial limbs with millimetre-level precision.
The role of AI in providing medical care to wounded soldiers has evolved over the course of the war from limited practical use to a wide range of applications in evacuation, diagnosis, predictive analytics, and treatment of wounded soldiers with AI system-level coordination, Dr Kolesnikov said.
Using AI, Ukrainian troops can assist in evacuating wounded soldiers by assessing the terrain, navigating around obstacles and locating the injured.
When sending medics poses an unacceptable risk, ground vehicles equipped with autonomous navigation systems can be dispatched to evacuate casualties from the front lines, he said.
Although there is no central intelligence that receives all of the relevant patient data from the various devices and makes recommendations, Ukraine’s military medical system relies on built-in AI modules, such as AI for triage (vital signs and injury assessment), AI for route optimisation, and AI for image interpretation, among others, which are then integrated through command-and-control platforms.
Dr Kolesnikov said: ‘AI does not replace doctors and surgeons, but expands their capabilities, reducing evacuation times, increasing the accuracy of diagnostics and surgical treatment, helping to save more lives with limited resources.’
The research was presented at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2025 in Chicago.
