Problem Formulation
Problem Formulation
Problem Statement: In mass-casualty incidents, medical responses need a more effective search and triage system to save more lives.
Stated Problem: MCIs need better triage and search systems
Actual Problem: Despite current medical response, MCIs still result in many preventable deaths
Inferred constraints: Searching and triage system needs to effectively prioritize which people need medical attention.
Actual constraints: Medical response teams are limited in human, time, and physical resources in the face of mass casualties.
Inferred Goal: Find as many people and effectively classify the severity of their injuries.
Actual Goal: Reduce the number of preventable deaths during MCIs.
Inputs: Disaster casualties, type of disaster, geographic location,
Outputs: Disaster search time, proportion of people successfully found, classification of injuries
Unknowns: Locations of individual people, best triage and search methods;
What is known:
The impact of MCIs is severe, where an estimated 10 to 20 thousand people die annually from natural disasters alone
25-50% of injuries and deaths are preventable given proper treatment
Human operators are stretched thin
Tasks to be performed (in order):
Develop an algorithm to identify injuries and classify patients by their need for medical attention (High)
Create a network that allows UAVs and UGVs to communicate (High)
Design modified UAVs and UGVs with cameras & microphones to collect data and communicate with injured individuals (Moderate)
Create the initial prototypes (Moderate)
Test prototypes in a controlled environment (Low)
The cause of these excess preventable deaths during MCIs is due to the high number of casualties these disasters pose relative to what medical responders are used to. As a consequence, search efforts often suffer due to inadequate manpower and technology.
What - MCIs have a greater fatality rate than what is possible to handle with current resources.
When - This problem when our most effective triage systems are not able to find victims soon enough.
Who - Medical professionals are working as hard as possible causing stress which leads to decreased ability. MCI victims might not be found in time to be saved further the ones who are found could have been found sooner leading to better odds at intervention.
Where - Any area can be affected by natural and/or man-made disasters but densely populated areas are at greater risk as well as areas of conflict.
Why - Even when our current means of triage and treatment are working at their most effective, there are still large areas of improvement based on the number of people who have been unable to receive life-saving treatment in time.
How - By using UAVs to search and identify injuries, we can greatly improve the speed of search and accuracy of triage.