Achieving a step change in emergency and disaster response with innovative technologies

In April and May 2023, the NIGHTINGALE project partners attended multiple key events in the field of disaster management, emergency medicine, and technologies for first responders. The main objectives include showcasing the project’s cutting-edge technological solutions, such as digital triage tags for patients, drones and AI-based solutions for civil protection agencies, and emergency mobile applications for citizens, and discussing how these tools can be used to advance emergency response during mass casualty incidents.

As mass casualty incidents become more sudden and more challenging for first responders, technological solutions can offer interoperable and integrated tools that can strengthen collaboration between emergency response agencies at the scene of an accident and produce a more efficient and effective response.

Dr Angelos Amditis, Research and Development Director at the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) and the NIGHTINGALE Project Coordinator, notes:

 “Every second spent without treatment following medical emergencies could seriously reduce the chance of a proper recovery or survival. NIGHTINGALE can essentially assist emergency medical services and non-medical civil protection practitioners in this race against time. The project’s advanced technologies can holistically optimise current procedures and methods and enhance operational capacities, contributing to saving lives and treating the injured in the most effective, efficient and collaborative manner.”

The NIGHTINGALE Project was presented at the following key events in the field of disaster and emergency response in Europe:

• European Emergency Number Association Conference (EENA), 19-21 May, Ljubljana

The annual EENA conference is a unique event for professionals in civil protection and emergency services to present new technologies and share valuable insights with experts from across the industry.

NIGHTINGALE partners participated in EENA 2023

• European Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ECTES), 7-9 May, Ljubljana

One of the largest European-wide congresses, which is organised by the European Society for Trauma & Emergency Surgery, ECTES brings together emergency and trauma surgeons as well as medical professionals in the field of military and disaster medicine.

Third roundtable with end-users and ECTES 2023

• World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, 9-12 May, Killarney

WADEM is a leading international organisation specialising in evidence-based improvement, education, and advocacy of emergency and disaster health care and disaster risk reduction.

Research results presented at WADEM 2023

• Public Safety Communications Europe Forum (PSCE) Conference, 10-11 May in Lavrion

PSCE provides an independent forum for representatives of public safety user organisations, industry, and research institutes can meet to discuss and exchange about the future of public safety communications. One of the key topics during the conference is new technological solutions for first responders to support the efficiency of search and rescue operations.

Safe & Rescue Final Event and PSCE Conference

If you wish to arrange an interview with NIGHTINGALE experts, please contact Carr Communications, at maryia@carrcommunications.ie. You can also contact directly the Project Coordinator, Dr Angelos Amditis, at a.amditis@iccs.gr.

Notes to the Editor

NIGHTINGALE

• €9M EU-funded project presents novel technologies for emergency medical response.
• The NIGHTINGALE toolkit includes a range of technological solutions for emergency teams and wearable devices for patients and first responders.
• 23 partners, representing research and technology developers, first responders, and emergency medical practitioners from across Europe and beyond, are working together to extensively test and validate the developed technologies and train first responders to use them in various mass casualty incident scenarios.

The NIGHTINGALE Toolkit

NIGHTINGALE will develop a novel integrated toolkit for emergency medical response. This toolkit will be designed for emergency medical services and non-medical civil protection agencies, including fire brigades, police, search and rescue personnel, volunteers, and citizens.

The toolkit will undergo extensive testing in the framework of a rich training, testing, and validation programme, including table-top simulation exercises, laboratory integration tests, small-scale field tests and full-scale field validations in realistic mass casualty incident scenarios.

More information

• Follow our Social Media Accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Full overview of Project Partners can be seen here
• Technical enquiries:
  • Project Coordination: Dr. Angelos Amditis, ICCS, amditis@iccs.gr
  • Project Management: Dr Dimitra Dionysiou, ICCS, dionysiou@iccs.gr and Dr Eleftherios Ouzounoglou, ICCS, eleftherios.ouzounoglou@iccs.gr
  • Project Technical Coordination: Mr. Evangelos Sdongos, ASTRIAL, sdongos@astrial.de
• Communication/media enquiries: Carr Communications, maryia@carrcommunications.ie