Publications / 2009 Proceedings of the 26th ISARC, Austin, USA

An Advanced Wireless System for Emergency Management in Hospitals

Angelo Biscotti, Sara Spadoni, Berardo Naticchia and Alessandro Carbonari
Pages 30-37 (2009 Proceedings of the 26th ISARC, Austin, USA, ISBN 978-0-578-02312-0, ISSN 2413-5844)
Abstract:

This paper reports preliminary results achieved during the experimentation of a new real time localization system, especially designed in support of hospitals’ emergency management. This system represents the first step of a wider ongoing research project, carried on by the authors in collaboration with the academic spinoff company Smart Space Solutions SRL, aimed at the developing of the W.E.M.A.S. (Wireless Emergency Management Aiding System) system, whose final aim is increasing hospitals’ efficiency in the management of the maxi emergencies consequent to disasters. WEMAS uses advanced wireless localization tracking and communication technologies to provide a number of features, such as: patient’s flows and patient’s healthcare progress tracking, equipment and medical personnel tracking, triage information management, ambulance scheduling and early communication of patient status from ambulance to the receiving emergency division. As a side effect, WEMAS system will equip hospitals with this new network infrastructure to optimize patient logistics for routine management. This paper describes also tests performed on the first release of WEMAS system, in the Emergency Division of the Hospital of Senigallia (Italy), demonstrating its features and technological feasibility.

Keywords: RTLS; wireless communication; disaster response; emergency management.