NIGHTINGALE Project Showcased at EUSEM 2024 in Copenhagen

22 November 2024

Press release

• EU-funded NIGHTINGALE project presented at the 2024 European Emergency Medicine Congress (EUSEM) in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• The congress brought together over 3,500 healthcare professionals working in emergency medicine from 86 countries.
• CRIMEDIM UPO – Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health showcased the NIGHTINGALE AI-based toolkit at the event.

On 12-16 October 2024, the NIGHTINGALE project was represented at EUSEM 2024: European Emergency Medicine Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. This annual congress brings together healthcare professionals working in emergency medicine and showcases new developments and insights in the field.

NIGHTINGALE project partner, Marta Caviglia from CRIMEDIM UPO – Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health, showcased the project with a presentation entitled ‘Enhancing Mass Casualty Incident Response: Technological Innovations and their Challenges in Crisis Management’.

Marta’s presentation focused on two topics: how NIGHTINGALE’s cutting-edge, AI-based technologies can be integrated in prehospital Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) response, and the challenges and implications of integrating technology into the complex operational context of MCI handling.

A key point of Marta’s presentation is that the integration of AI in MCI response holds great potential but also requires careful consideration.

As such, Marta presented specific criteria that should be followed when introducing new technologies such as AI to MCI and Disaster Response, including the ethical concerns, environmental impact, and how MCI technology should be tailored to the users’ immediate needs, interests and abilities. An openness to change is also required when incorporating AI into MCI and Disaster Response, as MCI technology is frequently applied in highly complex contexts.

In addition, Marta noted that:

          ‘Trust, data protection, accessibility, and continuous education and training are crucial when incorporating AI. This will ensure that AI will enhance response efforts rather than overloading first responders with information or complicating critical decision-making during acute response phases.’

Marta demonstrated how the NIGHTINGALE toolkit meets these criteria. She showed how it will upgrade triage, optimise prehospital life support and damage control, and enable shared response across different agencies. Among the tools Marta presented were NIGHTINGALE’s triage and vitals signs devices, intelligence systems, interoperability and data fusion, and multi-agency collaboration. Marta used the 2010 Haiti earthquake as a case study to demonstrate how these tools can support first responders in real-world scenarios.

Marta said of the event:

          ‘EUSEM was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the potential of NIGHTINGALE’s user-centred, AI-based toolkit for first responders, and emphasise the importance of citizen engagement in mass casualty preparedness.’

3780 participants from 86 countries attended the congress. Attendees included the World Health Organization (WHO), The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM).

NIGHTINGALE’s participation in EUSEM 2024 underscores its commitment to enhancing global disaster response capabilities through innovative technology and collaboration with frontline professionals.

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 CRIMEDIM-UPO

CRIMEDIM is the end-users’ coordinator of the NIGHTINGALE project. NIGHTINGALE’s end-users are the first responders, who will use the project’s toolkit to save lives in mass casualty incidents. CRIMEDIM plays an active role in NIGHTINGALE’s integration testing, validation of the project’s developed tools, and user identification. CRIMEDIM also conducts the small- and full-scale exercises in the NIGHTINGALE project. During these exercises, CRIMEDIM works directly with first responders to define the requirements and operating principles based on the latter’s needs and scientific evidence.

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

Marta Caviglia | Researcher | CRIMEDIM UPO – Center for Research and Training in Disaster Medicine, Humanitarian Aid and Global Health | marta.caviglia@med.uniupo.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.