A severe car accident takes place… a few minutes later the ambulance shows up… the severely injured and barely breathing driver is placed in the ambulance with all kinds of medical equipment around him/her but no medical expertise until the ambulance arrives in the hospital …
Well now a system for remote treatment could help improve survival rates in such instances.. An IST (Information Society Technologies) funded DICOEMS project “has developed a wireless technology platform enabling doctors in hospital emergency rooms to remotely manage treatment of accident and other emergency victims. With specially equipped handheld computers or smart phones, paramedics and other emergency personnel first on the scene can send images and critical patient information, including vital data such as pulse, respiration, and ECG, to specialists at hospital emergency departments. Doctors can monitor the patient’s condition via streaming video from the ambulance, make a diagnosis and provide detailed medical procedures for paramedics to follow.”
“DICOEMS could significantly improve survival rates for victims of accidents or other medical emergencies by reducing the chance of inappropriate treatment,” says Matteo Colombo, a technical specialist at Synergia 2000, the Milan-based project coordinator. “The system will improve decision support, diagnosis and risk management in critical situations occurring far from hospital emergency rooms,” says Colombo.