Appl Clin Inform 2013; 04(03): 392-402
DOI: 10.4338/ACI-2013-04-RA-0023
Case Report
Schattauer GmbH

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

A. T. Reisner
1   Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (BHSAI), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD, USA
2   Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
,
M. Y. Khitrov
1   Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (BHSAI), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD, USA
,
L. Chen
1   Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (BHSAI), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD, USA
,
A. Blood
2   Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
,
K. Wilkins
3   Boston MedFlight, Bedford, MA, USA
,
W. Doyle
3   Boston MedFlight, Bedford, MA, USA
,
S. Wilcox
2   Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
3   Boston MedFlight, Bedford, MA, USA
,
T. Denison
3   Boston MedFlight, Bedford, MA, USA
,
J. Reifman
1   Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (BHSAI), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), Fort Detrick, MD, USA
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Correspondence to:

Jaques Reifman
BHSAI, TATRC, USAMRMC
ATTN: MCMR-TT
504 Scott Street
Fort Detrick, MD 21702
USA

Publication History

received: 16 April 2013

accepted: 13 August 2013

Publication Date:
16 December 2017 (online)

 

Summary

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 vital-sign 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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Conflict of Interest

There are no conflicts of interest reported by the authors.


Correspondence to:

Jaques Reifman
BHSAI, TATRC, USAMRMC
ATTN: MCMR-TT
504 Scott Street
Fort Detrick, MD 21702
USA