Man portable, self contained, battery powered wireless communication infrastructure for Emergency Responders supports patient triage on Wi-Fi handhelds at simulated Mass Casualty Incident (MCI).
Knoxville, TN—Emergency Responders from Knoxville/Knox County, Tennessee tested their new Emergency Patient Tracking System (EPTS) equipment at the annual Chrysler Jeep “Boomsday” Festival, which brings over 350,000 people to the Tennessee River waterfront for friends, food, and the biggest Labor Day Fireworks show in the country.
This year, first responders set up three medical aid stations and three mobile units to respond to individual medical needs at the Boomsday event. This proved to be the perfect opportunity to test the EPTS equipment. The newest pieces of equipment were the Warrior HotSpots from Entrée Wireless that creates a Wi-Fi communication “bubble” where first responders can access the Internet with standard laptop and PDA devices. The Warrior HotSpot is a ruggedized, self-contained, all in one battery powered Wi-Fi hotspot that can be quickly deployed and operates for up to 12 hours on battery power. Once turned on, the wireless router within the Warrior Hotspot automatically connects to the Internet via a cellular connection and creates a Wi-Fi bubble with a range of 300-500 feet.
Through the use of the Warrior HotSpot, the first responders in each medical aid station were able to scan patients into the Emergency Patient Tracking System with Wi-Fi enabled scanners loaded with EPTS Software. Each patient is assigned a unique number and triage category. Some of the additional information that can be gathered for each patient may include the following: chief complaint, vital signs, disposition, and destination. The data gathered from each patient is then transmitted wirelessly from the handheld scanners to a secure website via the cellular-enabled wireless routers and Warrior HotSpots. The core technology for the EPTS was developed by Disaster Management Solutions.
All information is then viewable by incident command and emergency response coordinators in EMS, public health, local emergency management, and hospitals. The information available through EPTS provides essential situational awareness to the Common Operational Picture (COP). This was apparent through testing the system at Boomsday and would be an integral part of response in a mass casualty incident (MCI).
“We’re very fortunate in Knox County to have had the support from emergency response agencies and hospitals in the City and County to develop this patient tracking system. The EPTS system is designed to be fast, convenient, and easy to use – while providing essential information for an effective emergency response,” states Larry Hutsell, Knox County Emergency Response Coordinator.
First responders and hospitals have an urgent need to know as quickly as possible how many casualties there are and their severity during an MCI. The Emergency Patient Tracking System and Warrior HotSpots allow this information to be available in as real-time as possible.
About Knox County Public Health
The Knox County Health Department is committed to promoting public health practices that safeguard and improve the quality of life for every member of our community. KCHD staff strives each day to achieve our goal by offering Knox County residents a wide array of core public health services such as: disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, immunizations, primary care, and emergency preparedness.
The objective of the Emergency/Bioterrorism Preparedness Department (EBPD) is to ensure Public Health Preparedness and establish the capability to respond effectively to bioterrorism, other outbreaks of infectious disease, public health threats, and emergencies.
The responsibilities of the EBPD include the following: Assessment and Planning, Surveillance and Epidemiology, Communications and Information Technology, Volunteer Management, Risk Communication, Education and Training, Dispensing/Vaccination Clinics. The Staff can be reached by calling 865-215-5093.
About Entrée Wireless
Entrée Wireless is the originator of the ruggedized Warrior Portable ‘Hotspot in a Box’ and is a leading provider of wireless mobility solutions designed to enhance communications for public safety, first responder and mobile personnel
The products support the rapid deployment of emergency communication equipment to temporary and hard to wire locations with limited or unreliable power sources and they support the National Incident Management System (NIMS) related command, communication and situational awareness requirements.
A key application is rapid deployment of reliable communications to Mass Causality Incidents (MCI) associated with natural and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives (CBRNE) events. Other applications include general Internet access, video surveillance, sensing and monitoring and tactical communication infrastructure that require connectivity to 3G (CDMA, GSM), 4.9Ghz public safety, Satellite, WiMax and other networks
The Warrior packaging is a ruggedized, all in one, self contained, battery/solar powered design that is flexible, modular and man portable. The products incorporate standard COTS equipment from leading manufactures such as Cisco, Linksys WRT54G3G, Kyocera KR1, Junxion JB-1100b/e, Top Global MB8000, Airlink PinPoint/Raven, Airaya 4.9GHz, Proxim 4000, Nera BGAN and Firetide.
Entrée Wireless also provides a rapid prototype development service to meet custom design requirements. Complete details can be found at www.EntreeWireless.com
About Disaster Management Solutions -
Disaster Management Solutions delivers technology solutions for the first response community. We support the heroes that respond when catastrophe strikes, and the DMS suite of integrated tracking solutions help automate the data collection process, streamline communications, and simplify post event reporting for Fire Departments, EMS, Hospitals, Police, Public Health and all entities involved with emergency disaster management.
Based upon its trademarked ‘VSE’ software engine technology, DMS provides an integrated suite of software applications. Applications include FirstTrak Patient - geared for tracking patients in crises situations, FirstTrak Equipment - for keeping track of equipment and supplies in mass casualty trailers or other first response caches, and FirstTrak Inventory - for managing Receipt, Store and Stage facilities and the Strategic National Stockpile.
DMS is pioneering the use of information technology in disaster situations with first in kind deployments for these products. For more information, Disaster Management Solutions can be reached at 877-428-2396 or on the web at www.dmssolutions.com.