MAIC Brown Bag: Mass Casualty Incidents Response Modelling and Simulation

Beschrijving

Mass Casualty Incidents Response Modelling and Simulation: From Manmade Disasters to the Trenches of the Battlefield

Mehdi Benhassine, ScD

Department of Mathematics, Royal Military Academy, Brussels, Belgium



Disaster response modelling and simulation remains a relatively unexplored field despite its critical importance. The complexity of these models encompasses multiple challenges: abstracting patient health state evolution over time, incorporating timely clinical interventions, managing processes dependent on route networks and hospital locations, and accounting for disaster effects including rapid decision-making requirements. This research demonstrates how combining mathematical modelling, discrete-event stochastic simulations, subject matter expertise, and open-source data has advanced the state of the art in this domain.

The study presents various models and use cases, including the development of a novel patient health state model designed specifically for simulation purposes. These models integrate individual patient tracking capabilities, medical logistics management, and real-time hospital saturation monitoring in a hybrid approach. The research examines combinations of these elements within a battlefield context, following a NATO exercise scenario.

The presentation establishes a compelling case for using modelling and simulation to address Mass Casualty Incidents response. The research highlights key innovations and moving points in the field while addressing appropriate validation methods. Through this comprehensive approach, the study contributes significantly to our understanding of disaster response dynamics and provides valuable tools for future emergency management planning.

About the presenter:

Mehdi Benhassine holds a PhD in physical sciences obtained in 2010 in the field of computational materials science of liquid metal/metal interface phenomena. He joined the Royal Military Academy in 2021 to develop a simulator for battlefield medical care using discrete-event simulation techniques. He is the Belgium principal member to the NATO Modelling and Simulation Group (NMSG). In addition to NATO, he actively interacts with national bodies in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) Medical Preparedness and the Military Medicine Centre of Excellence. To collect data and validate hypotheses, he regularly participates in Mass Casualty Live exercises. His e-mail address is [email protected].

Bijkomende beschrijving

Hello MAICler and friends!

I met Dr. Benhassine when he presented part of his work at the Military Track of the Winter Simulation Conference 2024. His work is conceptually challenging, as it requires a hybrid modeling and simulation approach across various paradigms and scales, as well as addressing a topic of broad interest, across many government agencies. I was very happy that he immediately agreed to present his work to MITRE in this invited presentation. I encourage you to forward this information to MITRE members in other innovation centers and divisions interested in this presentation.

With the best wishes

Andreas

Andreas Tolk, Ph.D.
Senior Principal Chief Scientist, The MITRE Corporation
Fellow of the Society for Modeling and Simulation

Periode	24 feb. 2025
Gehouden op	MITRE Corporation, Verenigde Staten van Amerika
Mate van erkenning	Internationaal