Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, researchers from Ukraine’s Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (NURE) along with a team from the University of Warwick in the U.K. are developing artificial intelligence (AI) software that will enable doctors and medics to triage injured soldiers.

Using a combination of CT scans and AI, the new software is expected to allow doctors to triage patients — specifically those with life-threatening shrapnel injuries — in immediate need of medical intervention but without visible wounds.

The software is expected to alleviate an issue plaguing medics attempting to treat several injured people simultaneously by expediting the time it takes to identify those with life-threatening injuries so that they can prioritize those in most need of emergency surgery.

In addition to its usefulness on the battlefield, the researchers suggest that the software could be used during emergencies such as earthquakes or in trauma units at hospitals.

"For WMG's part of the project, we will be creating phantom models using 3D imaging — replicas of human anatomy and shrapnel wounds. These will act as 'test objects', which experts in computer science can use to calibrate their technology and AI program," explained the researchers.