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Texts of interest:
Mobile
phone medical system processing tsunami infection victims
Kristyn Maslog-Levis, Special to ZDNet, January 20,
2005
The
use of GIS for the Emergency Medical Care System, EMCS
Jagadish S
GIS Programmer, Induscorp India PVT Ltd - Bangalore
Mailing Address: 26 and 27,6th Main Road,MICO Layout,BTM-II
Stage,Bangalore-560076
Kartik.krish@induscorp.com
Ph.No. 080-6789391/6789395
Abstract
The proposed use of GIS with EMCS will alleviate the
damage to life or save life by suggesting first aid
and by admitting the patient to the nearest suitable
hospital. This will be decided by the Emergency Medical
Care and Rescue Team which will react on being updated
about the patient's status of health and ECG report
through GPS enabled Mobile device at the patient's
end. The EMCS, with the aid of GIS and GPS technologies,
will give precise directions on the optimum route the
ambulance needs to travel along and reach the hospital
to minimize damage. This paper will provide an insight
as to how GIS coupled with GPS can be help the patient
obtain immediate and timely medical treatment.
Introduction
Emergencies occur anywhere, at any location, at any time,
and in various different ways - thus making any one
of us susceptible. Although the structure of the EMCS
differs across nations, the aims in applying emergency
medical services are world wide the same:
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To save life,
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To limit damage to individual health,
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To initiate
recovery procedures ensuring the best possible quality
of life.
At the present time, it is very difficult
for the on-scene rescue team to obtain quick and
secure information
in selecting the most advantageous hospital.
This also means
that the admitting hospital is not properly
informed about the incoming patient.
Upon admission to the hospital, the patient should be
treated carefully, effectively, and spontaneously by
a pre-informed and thoroughly prepared team in the shock
room. Incomplete (or lack of) incoming patient information
for the admitting hospital leads uneconomical usage of
resources in cases of overestimation, and to damage to
the patient in cases of underestimation.
Continued efforts to increase educational guidance for
emergency physicians, emergency medical services have
significantly improved. Despite good overall medical
care, however, there are some weak points and points
of non-conformance in the single phase of the rescue
course which subjects the patient to avoidable life-threatening
situations. As an example, we find that an inadequate
shock treatment facilitates development of post-traumatic
multiple-organ-dysfunction, which threatens the patient’s
life even days after an accident. On the other hand,
an improperly attended injury can lead to a life-long
disability with secondary effects in reference to social
and economical problems.
Thus, it is undoubted to establish a direct, fast, and
efficient EMCS without delay. Furthermore, for timesaving
and increasing the ability for patients care, it is critical
sending patients to the closest and most proper hospital
efficiently for further treatment and to reduce the therapy-free
time intervals as much as possible, and to provide the
emergency physician with the means required to foster
optimal care. Hence, the development of emergency medical
information system has its own value and necessity. The
EMCS is known as a well-organized structure that supports
the labors, equipments, and hospitals for quick and efficient
emergency care and medical service during the accidental
emergency situation or the considerable disaster. When
the timesaving for the emergency care can be controlled,
the damage will also be able to be well minimized and,
in the mean time, it will also increase the survival
rate of the patients.
Materials and Methods
Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) can integrate graphic information and data
in databases to support the production
of geographic information for further arrangement,
analysis, and management. Maps which are produced and
displayed by GIS present excellent visual interpretations
of data which can hardly can be achieved by language
and letters. In the past, research which used GIS for
layer display tools or analysis of layer for research
were most common. Recently, the GIS is getting widely
acknowledged as a technology and is becoming a universally
accepted tool applicable to a wide range of areas of
focus. The role of the network analysis in the field
of the spatial analysis is rapidly gaining momentum.
In network analysis, the “optimum path" is
derived by considering many criteria. Criteria could
be the level of the road, one way or two way transportation,
speed limit, etc. Further, following the above information
then giving the different priority will help arrive
at the destination in the most efficient manner.
Tracking through the Internet opens up new ways of ensuring
the safety, health. Today, by using the new technology
provided by GPS/GSM enabled mobile phones it is possible
to protect the victims, the young and the elderly or
disabled living alone. New software and GPS/GSM phones
allow medical staff, no matter where, to measure the
arrhythmia of heart patients, track the position of the
patient and send for assistance in an emergency.
Elderly, disabled
For a small monthly outlay, this new technology is a
solution for the elderly or physically disabled living
alone, providing them and their relatives with peace
of mind. An improvement on the panic buttons worn around
the neck, these new mobile phones with their two-way
message and voice connection enable the elderly or
disabled to be immediately located in the case of an
emergency. They also release people from the fear that
they are only safe where the on-site system is operating.
These new devices work when they are out and about
anywhere there is mobile phone coverage. The phone
not only provides the user with more control by enabling
them to decide who is to be informed in case of a fall
or accident but also ensure a quick response time from
either the emergency services, a local GP or relative.
Heart patients
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of
death in industrialized countries. Patients who have
had heart disease often experience a lack of confidence
and mobility, which affect their quality of life. The
latest adaptation of the GPS/GSM mobile phone is the
mobile heart phone. This technology incorporates a
central emergency call function with an integrated
ECG recording and a positioning and search function.
The emergency call function includes the automatic
dialing of the call centre, an identification feature
and advice for the patient and escorts including resuscitation
procedures. Patients can, with the use of the four
ECG leads provided, transmit an ECG reading via a signal
converter to medical staff to provide an immediate
diagnosis. A position and search function determines
the position of the patient and ensures the management
of an activated rescue chain.
Characteristics of the GIS can be used to develop a
prototype of an EMCS and establish a mobile system that
can determine the position of the accident and rapidly
assist in admitting people to the nearest hospital.
Conclusions
This paper presented the EMCS system in a nutshell and
how GIS can be used to play a vital role in medical
care and health systems. Technologies such as GIS and
the like can be used extensively to throw up new methods
of applying technology to medical care and hence save
lives.
http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/about.html
WISER stands for the Wireless Information System for
Emergency Responders. It is a system designed to assist
first responders in hazardous material incidents. It
provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances,
including substance identification support, physical
characteristics, human health information, and containment
and suppression advice.
EMedic
http://emedic.com/index.asp
Put an entire emergency medical
reference library in your handheld computer.
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A
full compliment of medical
calculators (e.g., Apgar,
Burn, Drip, Dosage, Glasgow, Trauma, Triage, Unit
Conversion, etc.).
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Hundreds of pages of flowcharts to help you navigate
BLS, ALS and ACLS algorithms.
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The most prescribed
medicines and emergency medications.
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