nightingale project held 2nd Full-Scale Exercise in Savona, italy
Press release
- EU-funded NIGHTINGALE project tested their new, AI-based toolkit for first responders in two simulated mass casualties in Savona, Italy.
- Over 300 participants attended the exercise and included emergency service providers, civic volunteers, and 23 research and industry organisations from 11 countries.
- The exercise was organised by the Italian Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with the Ligurian Social and Health Authority ASL2.
On 5 October 2024, the EU-funded NIGHITINGALE project held its second Full-Scale Exercise (FSX) in Savona, Italy. The NIGHTINGALE project has developed a toolkit that enhances pre-hospital life support and triage for challenging and complex environments using AI-based solutions and augmented reality tools. This will improve the capacities of emergency medical services and civil protection agencies to save lives in mass casualty incidents. In Savona, NIGHTINGALE’s second FSX tested this toolkit and its technologies in a realistic, yet controlled, environment via two simulated mass casualty incidents: the aftermaths of a natural disaster and an explosion.
The event was organised and hosted by the Ministero dell’Interno, Dipartimento dei Vigili del Fuoco, del Soccorso Pubblico e della Difesa Civile in collaboration with the Azienda Sanitaria Locale N.2 Savonese (ASL2). NIGHTINGALE project members tested the toolkit and participated in the exercise alongside a diverse group of rescuers and volunteers. Rescuers included professionals and volunteers, emergency medical service providers, professional firefighters, police and Carabinieri. The participants used the NIGHTINGALE tools to carry out triage and stabilise multiple ‘victims’ in the complex mass casualty simulations. They then provided feedback on how the toolkit and its technologies streamline prehospital triage, improve response efficiency and enhance coordination during mass casualty incidents.
The exercise was deployed across two locations: in an industrial site in Val Bormida and in the Palazzo Rosso in Cengio. The Val Bormida site is a large disused industrial complex where over 300 simulating victims, technicians and rescuers were deployed to act out the mass casualty scenarios. The simulated operations rooms of 118, the Fire Brigade, the State Police and the Carabinieri were located in the Palazzo Rosso, as well as the strategic room run by the Prefettura. Here, there were also workstations where the NIGHTINGALE tools were showcased and a space where the Authorities and observers watched a live video of the simulation in Val Bormida.
Among the novel technologies tested included NIGHTINGALE’s Triage Device and Mobile Application: a low-cost, modular and customised solution bracelet and earplug for patients that are interconnected with smartphone apps. For first responders, this system enables communication of information such as vitals measurements, patient identification and device status of patient health. The system also boosts situational awareness, enhances sense-making capabilities and increases collaboration among responders. Other technologies included: incident management and command control solutions; a next generation Public Safety Answering Point; emergency mobile applications for citizens to support rapid triage; a wide area thermographic scanning system that rapidly identifies patients to receive care and detects medical conditions such as inflammations and fractures; and drones that enable rapid triage and incident reporting over image, audio and video.
Dr Eleftherios Ouzounoglou, Technical Management Advisor from the Institute of Communication and Computer Systems (ICCS) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), said of the exercise:
‘We are very happy with the FSX2 results. We had an excellent deployment of the system, which is crucial to ensure that the technologies work and specifically work for the end-users, the first responders, who are continually faced with mass casualties that are increasing in complexity and scope.’
NIGHTINGALE’s second full-scale exercise was the largest and final field validation in the project to date. It provided a vital opportunity to test how the NIGHTINGALE toolkit will be deployed by first responders and citizens beyond the project’s lifetime.
ENDS
For more information about the NIGHTINGALE project, or to arrange an interview with a NIGHTINGALE representative, contact Sean Travers, Carr Communications, at stravers@carrcommunications.ie
Notes to the Editor
More about the NIGHTINGALE Project
The NIGHTINGALE project is developing a novel integrated toolkit for emergency medical response, in order to optimise the current procedures and operational capabilities of emergency medical services and civil protection agencies in mass casualty incidents. This toolkit has been designed for emergency medical services and non-medical civil protection agencies, including fire brigades, police, search and rescue personnel, volunteers, and citizens.
The toolkit has undergone extensive testing and validation by first responders. This includes practical training exercises, laboratory testing, and small- and full-scale field tests in realistic mass casualty incident scenarios.
More about the Full-Scale Exercise in Mass Casualty Incident Scenarios
In the NIGHTINGALE project, a full-scale exercise is a practical training exercise for first responders and citizens in mass casualty incident scenarios. The commonly agreed definition of what constitutes a mass casualty incident (MCI) is an incident where the location, number, severity or type of casualties exceed the resources usually available to local emergency services. Practical drills, such as full-scale exercises, help to prepare first responders – such as paramedics, emergency doctors, fire brigades and police – by testing their crisis response strategies and technical equipment in a controlled and safe environment. This way, first responders can be better prepared for real-life emergencies.
Contact information of the NIGHTINGALE Project Coordinator
Dr Angelos Amditis | Research and Development Director | Institute of Communication and Computer Systems | a.amditis@iccs.gr
Contact information of the partner responsible for the exercise
Marcello Marzoli | Fire Captain | Dipartimento dei Vigili del Fuoco | Ministero dell’Interno | marcello.marzoli@vigilfuoco.it
For more information about the project, visit the NIGHTINGALE website and follow NIGHTINGALE on LinkedIn and X.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101021957.
