App could save the lives of burns victims in combat

Chris Seaton, formerly a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps and now a PhD student studying Computer Science at Manchester University, created the iPhone and iPad application after seeing the injuries that burns caused to fellow soldiers.

Seaton, who carried out the research alongside Rowan Pritchard Jones and Prof Paul McArthur, plastic surgeons at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust and academics at Liverpool University, has produced research, together with Liverpool University, that reportedly reduces the possibility of errors in treating burns victims.

According to a statement, administering the right amount of fluids is critical in order to increase the likelihood of surviving burns injuries. Traditionally, doctors will have to make a quick series of pen and paper calculations to assess the ideal amount.

The margin for error on doing this is said to be high and the process is also time consuming. The app — dubbed Mersey Burns — allows for exact and quick calculations.