Implementation of an Advanced Spatial Technological System for Emergency Situations

e-communication. SUMMARY This paper describes the combination of new technology along with the collaboration of several authorities and organizations, for the development of an advanced technological system for emergency situations. The coordination of all parties directly or indirectly involved, consists a crucial parameter for the fast and effective confrontation of trauma incidents ranging from massive risk events to single cases. The system developed was based on Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless technologies, to improve pre-hospital treatment by optimizing Emergency Vehicle (EV) fleet route guidance, thus reducing the overall time needed to transfer patients to the appropriate trauma centre. Furthermore, on-vehicle equipment simulating the operation of classical traffic management systems ensures EV traffic pre-emption, while at the same time a cellular based (GSM) telemedicine system transfers patients’ key medical data from the ambulances to trauma center. The system was successfully tested for a three month time period, covering the greater Patras area in Western Greece. Over the recorded cases, a significant time reduction was noted, showing that new technology can improve pre-hospital treatment in a rapidly changing heath care system. The key innovation concepts required minimal infrastructure interference that relied on: 1) computerized navigation algorithms for routing the ambulances from and to the accident location, 2) transfer of visual and sound data from the ambulance and continuous telemedical communication between the dispatch center and the ambulance.