New medical technology speeds field triage and information sharing | 08.18.2006 | 07:32:19 | Views: 5769 | ID: August 18 '06: A new medical bracelet being designed by IBM will be used by first responders in the St. Louis area to help improve disaster-site medical response and victim triage, a press release announced this week. The St. Louis Area Regional Response System (STARRS), a regional planning organization that works to coordinate the St. Louis metro area to prepare for emergencies, has received federal homeland security funding to use for the development of the project. STARRS Deputy Director Nick Gragnani said, "In any emergency situation where human lives are at stake, seconds count. ... Better medical information provided more quickly means better patient care and more lives saved." At the heart of the new information-sharing technology is a system that "will enable first responders to record at the scene of the incident" patient information "using mobile data terminals," as well as the condition of the patient, their vital signs and the cause and extent of their injuries. The hospital where the patient will be sent along with a bar-coded bracelet "is then produced and attached to the patient that will draw up their information when it is scanned at the hospital." After the victim's condition has been assessed and the information has been loaded into the computer, the information is sent over a wireless network which can be accessed in real-time by medical responders, police and fire officials and hospital personnel via mobile data terminals, laptops and PC's, the press release read. "The barcode bracelets and real-time information will assist EMS command centers and hospitals to more effectively manage their resources by having the new ability to analyze incident data to identify needs and trends to improve decision making." By the end of October, the information-sharing system will be installed in the St. Louis metro area as well as the surrounding counties as well as all Level II and Level III trauma centers.
Copyright ©2007 TheBreakingNews.com. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction in part or full without prior written permission.
|