Development and Validation of a Portable Platform for Deploying Decision-Support Algorithms in Prehospital Settings

Abstract

Background: Advanced decision-support capabilities for prehospital trauma care may prove effective at improving patient care. Such functionality would be possible if an analysis platform were connected to a transport vital-signs monitor. In practice, there are technical challenges to implementing such a system. Not only must each individual component be reliable, but, in addition, the connectivity between components must be reliable. Objective: We describe the development, validation, and deployment of the Automated Processing of Physiologic Registry for Assessment of Injury Severity (APPRAISE) platform, intended to serve as a test bed to help evaluate the performance of decision-support algorithms in a prehospital environment. Methods: We describe the hardware selected and the software implemented, and the procedures used for laboratory and field testing. Results: The APPRAISE platform met performance goals in both laboratory testing (using a vitalsign data simulator) and initial field testing. After its field testing, the platform has been in use on Boston MedFlight air ambulances since February of 2010. Conclusion: These experiences may prove informative to other technology developers and to healthcare stakeholders seeking to invest in connected electronic systems for prehospital as well as in-hospital use. Our experiences illustrate two sets of important questions: are the individual components reliable (e.g., physical integrity, power, core functionality, and end-user interaction) and is the connectivity between components reliable (e.g., communication protocols and the metadata necessary for data interpretation)? While all potential operational issues cannot be fully anticipated and eliminated during development, thoughtful design and phased testing steps can reduce, if not eliminate, technical surprises.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 21, 2013
Accession Number
ADA597945

Entities

People

  • A. Blood
  • A. T. Reisner
  • J. Reifman
  • K. Wilkins
  • Larry Chen
  • M. Y. Khitrov
  • S. Wilcox
  • T. Denison
  • W. Doyle

Organizations

  • United States Army Medical Research and Development Command

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Application Software
  • Biomedical Research
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Processing
  • Digital Communications
  • Health Services
  • Hospitals
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Platforms
  • Reliability
  • Tablet Computers
  • Validation
  • Vital Signs

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Trauma or Military Medicine

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics