Trauma Informatics: Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Concepts

One night in the not-too-distant future, a driver falls asleep at the wheel on an isolated highway, and his car crashes into a tree. Fortunately, the car is equipped with a crash-sensing system, which immediately begins a lifesaving process. First, the system automatically calls 911 and provides the coordinates of the crash, as received from GPS, the satellite-based global positioning system. A voice enunciator asks the driver to speak to the operator if he can. But since the driver is unable to respond, the system transmits information on the crash characteristics, including the vehicle’s instantaneous change in velocity.