Field Service News | ambulance services

Taking the tablets, saving lives.

Jul 07, 2015 • News • ambulance services • motion computing • rugged tablets • tablet computers

The Danish Ambulance service is to deploy almost 600 Motion C5 tablet computers as part of an innovative “Intelligent Ambulance” project that has been proven to save lives, Xplore Technologies Corporation has announced. The C5 units, which will be deployed across five regions, will enable ambulance teams to capture, accurately and quickly, all relevant patient data and transmit it to the hospital ahead of arrival.

Typically, a patient in an ambulance has hand-written notes that are passed on at admission into the hospital. As a process this is deeply flawed: the notes can be illegible and the risk of loss is substantial. Even if complete, perfectly readable notes are delivered to the hospital immediately on arrival, there is an inevitable delay as the information is actioned. This delay can increase if specialist doctors, teams or equipment are needed. Furthermore, with handwritten notes, there is typically only one perspective given – that of the ambulance personnel that has taken the details from the patient.

By comparison, the Intelligent Ambulance, equipped with the C5, can transmit vital observations direct to the hospital while the patient is en-route. Details on blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and oxygen saturation can be updated in near real-time. This information creates the Pre-Hospital Patient Journal (PPJ) that is used to determine a ‘trauma score’ that defines aspects of the care set up for the patient.

The Intelligent Ambulance, equipped with the C5, can transmit vital observations direct to the hospital while the patient is en-route.

The C5 was chosen ahead of competitive units on the basis of improved screen quality and robustness. The camera captures and transmits high-resolution images of injuries, whilst the barcode enables consistent and reliable classification of patient data. Transmission of the data is secure and robust with the C5’s WWAN support. The C5 Mobile Dock which secures the tablet in place in the ambulance is a critical component of the solution, designed and tested to exceed crash impact test standards and enabling the workflow that transmits the PPJ to the hospital, ahead of arrival.

Because of the forms within the software, the information is always accurate, understandable and critically arrives at the hospital before the patient, so facilities can be set up in advance, reducing the delays at admission. As the PPJ is shared across all responding and relevant personnel, teams can collaborate to deliver the best levels of patient care and specialist requirements can be sorted before ambulance arrives at the hospital.

The project was co-ordinated by CSC Scandihealth and Atea, with software developed by Judex, hardware supplied by Lexit and installation carried out by Radiocom.

Ian Davies, Sales Director, Northern Europe, Xplore Technologies said: “This project is a clear validation of the improvements that mobile computing can bring to clinical care and strong evidence that the tablet form factor is better suited to the emergency services, compared to ruggedized laptops. The ability to capture and transmit, better quality information, faster is the bedrock of patient care improvements. The Intelligent Ambulance project is set to make a real difference across the Danish Ambulance Service and the C5 will be a critical part of that success.”