LOW-COST & LOW-BANDWITH INFORMATION SYSTEMS

FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The Case of the Bull-Running

Belzunegui,

R. Ecay,

1,3

Huarte,

Legarrea,

Mayor,

Pina and

Unzue

Computer Science Engineering Department, Public University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

Computer Science Service, Public University of Navarra,Pamplona, Spain

Spanish Red Cross, Navarra State Branch, Pamplona, Spain

Keywords: Emergency Situation, Knowledge management, Databases and Datawarehousing, Mobile technologies for

Healthcare applications.

Abstract: This paper describes one research line carried out by the Public University of Navarra in collaboration with

the Spanish Red Cross with an interdisciplinary team of volunteers, students, technicians and lecturers

whose main aim is to create low cost information systems, adaptive to irregular infrastructures and

dispersed locations for emergency response purposes. The features of such systems require a consolidation

of the information at several levels and some times among different organizations. They require as well

other features like platform independence, low bandwidth information flow and feedback from the end users

in order to optimize the process to acquire and display information. The final aim is to improve the data

capture and the needed interpretation of such data in order to help within one Emergency response situation.

One specific application has been implemented for the management of the incidences of the bull-running

and has been used and tested during the “Fiestas of San Fermin” in Pamplona from the 7th to the 14th of

July 2009.

1 INTRODUCTION

Information Management in Emergency situations is

a key tool in the decision-making processes. In this

work we propose a new technological model for

medical assistance in emergencies. The main

objective is to create simple systems, usable in

adverse circumstances, low cost and high

performance in order to use them in developing

countries for emergency response procedures. The

current systems are expensive, not easy to put in

place and to maintain and most of the times they

require specific training and even in some cases the

final end user has to adapt itself to the system and

not the contrary. This and the cost of licences,

computers and infrastructures make this type of

solution not suitable for developing countries

The project we are presenting here has studied

different technologies and has proposed one

technological model of reduced cost and with a huge

adaptability to different operating systems and

connectivity platforms for the transmission of the

information in such emergency contexts.

As a result of this study we have determined several

action lines to decrease cost and at the same time

choosing the best possible technology with the

adequate devices.

To show the feasibility of all these ideas we have

designed and implemented one specific application

to handle the medical assistance during the running

of the bulls in Pamplona

(http://www.sanfermin.com/index.php/en/encierro).

The solution has been tested during the “Fiesta of

San Fermin 2009” showing both feasibility and

utility.

What we are looking for is a technology able to

handle the essential information transfer in such

systems, at a reasonable cost, and then to develop

several applications that combined and coordinated

adequately make up an effective, useful and reliable

information system.

432

Belzunegui M., Ecay R., Huarte R., Legarrea J., Mayor D., Pina A. and Unzue E. (2010).

LOW-COST & LOW-BANDWITH INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE - The Case of the Bull-Running.

In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Health Informatics, pages 432-435

DOI: 10.5220/0002739004320435

 SciTePress

The rest of this paper has the following structure.

The next section describes current and relevant

background related with the topic. Then the next

section describes with detail the proposed

technology. The following section explains a

complete example of a real experience of the system.

In the next section we present the most relevant

results. Then we discuss some conclusions and we

outline several future lines to work on.

2 BACKGROUND

The main issues in designing, implementing and

using this kind of Information Systems have to deal

with Management of complex, dynamic and not

precise information (Turoff et al, 1996), with the

necessary collaboration between different types of

organization located at different geographic places

(Catarci et al., 2008)( Yang et al., 2009).

Open source and freeware software is more and

more needed for such kind of situations. Sahana

(Currion et al., 2007) is a free and open source

disaster management system developed in Sri Lanka

following the disaster Tsunami in 2004. The main

characteristics of Sahana are: open-access approach,

low cost deployment and easy adaptability, free and

open source.

In any case a solution should take into account the

following statement (Carver et al., 2007) “Building

the computer as part of the emergency management

team assures that people continue to do the things

they do well, supported by the technology, not

driven by it”.

3 TECHNOLOGY FOR

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

This Project has analysed the current available

technologies and has defined a low cost

technological model, flexible, able to work with

different operating systems and with different

connectivity platforms for information data

exchange in emergency environments.

To meet these needs we have decided:

• To implement several cross-platform clients

with a common thread for data transmission

based in the use of Web URL queries both for

sending and receiving information

• To use the least possible bandwidth, sending

only the essential information

• To use open and free software so far as possible

to avoid licence costs at the deployment time

• To design simple and efficient user interfaces

for capturing and visualizing information,

answering to the needs of the specialised

technicians in emergencies.

• Every client has to catch (and/or visualize) the

information in the best way possible in order to

be helpful in taking decisions.

• The information may need to be consolidated at

different levels (terminal, base, coordination

centre, etc) and among different organizations.

4 ONE EXAMPLE: THE CASE OF

THE RUNNING BULLS

We have chosen one real example (in information

management for emergencies), to implement and test

one soft solution based on our previous ideas: the

management of the sanitary transport during the

running bulls of Pamplona. This management

implies 8 primary care points, more than 15

ambulances, 2 coordination centres and (at least) 2

hospitals.

To catch all the needed information we use a graphic

and intuitive system that does not require typing any

information to be transmitted; through a simple

interface the final user (sanitary staff at the primary

care points) can express quickly (by clicking) the

local needs for ambulances indicating

symptomatology, age range and sex. These demands

will be solved between the 2 coordination centres

simultaneously and will inform to the local operators

at the run of the results of the demands.

One of the principal requirements the system has to

meet is to be able to work in real time and to allow

every device to be on-line using the different

connections available in every area. It is similar to

an emergency situation because it is a small area

crowded (both with people and with mobile devices,

mostly phones), where several medical incidences

happen (some of them need sanitary transportation

to hospitals) in a short time interval (between 5-10

minutes). The scenario is therefore a valid one to test

the system.

Using the PDA, through a tactile and easy to use

interface, the transfer is requested and at the same

time this information is sent to the Red Cross centre

indicating as stated before sex, age range,

symptomatology and part of the body concerned and

cause (see figure 1).

LOW-COST & LOW-BANDWITH INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE - The Case of the

Bull-Running

433

Figure 1: User interface in the Mobile devices.

Figure 2: This is the User Interface for the control centre,

where they need accurate and real time information to take

decisions about the transfers.

With a warning (using sound and vibration mode)

the assistant at the care point at the run receives the

answer to the request (ambulance and hospital as

said before) for all the requests he has made. It is

also possible to cancel one request if necessary.

At any moment it is also possible to consult the

current status of any request. We use several colours

and status to visualise the evolution of each

incidence as it is seen in figure 2.

All the information is displayed and shared

through a web system and one unique screen which

allow a regular updating of all the information, every

second for the most critical and every 5 seconds for

the rest.

5 RESULTS

5.1 From a Sanitary Point of View

After the “Fiestas of San Fermin” and the 8 running-

bulls where the new system has been tested, the

result is very positive and satisfactory. The system

has been implanted progressively starting the 7th of

July at only 2 primary attention points at the run.

Figure 6 shows all the primary care points.

Both the start-up of the 2 points and the

communications with the coordination centre (both

directions) were fine but we could not test any other

thing as there was not any need of ambulances at

these 2 points.

The 8th of July we extended the test to 2 more

locations (Santo Domingo and Mercaderes) and the

performance was fine. From the 9th to the 14th the

system was tested in all the points and the result was

satisfactory in all the cases. The 9th of July all the

sanitary transfers were made through the new

system, leaving the radio channel for refinements

and other type of queries.

The 10th of July, specially difficult due to a high

number of transfers and to the fatal gore of the only

dead runner of the 2009 year, the system was very

helpful; it allowed to liberate completely the radio

channel for attending the fatal gore and the rest of

the incidents were managed through the PDA’s,

helping notably with the tasks of the coordination

centres. The rest of the days no new details were

reported.

From the user point of view, either at the run (at the

street) or at the coordination centres, the take-up has

been very good. They see this new program and

methodology as an important support tool for them.

The main conclusion is very positive about the new

tool, and it is seen as an extra tool that complements

the already existing means.

5.2 From a Computer Science Point of

View

Computationally the result is very fine too; the

application has been totally deployed with agility

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and has worked in the right way at any moment.

We have tested the capacity of integration of several

information systems with several operating systems

(Windows, Linux, Android Windows Mobile, …) on

different hardware platforms (PC, Laptops,

Netbooks, Smartphones and PDA).

6 CONCLUSIONS & FUTURE

LINES

The existing system until now was based on voice

messages (through radio VHF) between 2 operators;

these messages were registered/stored using paper

and pencil.

Even this system is valid it presents possible risks of

bad transcription and/or misunderstanding as well as

the fact that only one incidence can be processed at

the same time by the same operator.

The PDA system with this client-server architecture

allows simultaneous requests and assures that once

the symptomatology has been described it remains

visible for all the involved agents at the web

interface display, reducing time management and

improving reliability.

At the same time as the Web Interface is unique for

all the parts, the technicians have a common and

global vision of the situations, and this helps in

taking decisions.

The system prevents also from double assignment of

the same resource; this means that when one

resource (ambulance) is assigned, it is not possible

to assign it to another incidence (before the resource

is liberated).

From the conversations held with the medical

doctors involved in the coordination tasks they

outline that is a helpful tool for taking ambulance

assigning decisions. It is a very important tool also

to help in deciding to which sanitary centre an

injured is sent, and this is a critical point, responsible

for a high percentage of the delay before a transfer

begins effectively.

The complete development of the system and an

adequate deployment of it may reduce the global

times a patient has to wait since the first aid and the

transfer to the hospital.

The work within this project has tried to minimise

the information exchange (low bandwith), and opens

gates to work on a real time basis using several

standard communications systems like PSTN,

GSM/UMTS or satelital Iridum, thuraya or Inmarsat

with sustainable low costs.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We acknowledge for the collaboration of the Red

Cross and of all the volunteers that have participated

in the design and implementation of the application

as well as the volunteers that have piloted the

experience carried out between the 7th and the 14th

of July of 2009.

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