You are here: Vision
Move back to: Home
Common:
Contact
Editorial Notes
Data Protection
The ongoing demographical and social changes in most European countries, e.g., overageing, increasing number of single households, decreasing age of chronically disabled people, will result in a dramatic increase in emergency situations and missions within the next years. Already today, 44 % of emergency medical services (EMS) system resources are dedicated to patients over 70 years. On the downside, this will result in higher costs for the EMS, which already have to cope with cost restrictions today, in substantially diminished service quality, or, in all probability, in both of these. Unfortunately, a high quality and affordable EMS in case of an emergency is an essential prerequisite for the independent life of elderly people in their preferred environment.
The current EMS has the following inefficiencies:
Late indications. The EMS system is often activated too late. Reasons for this are (i) late perception, unawareness or ignorance of upcoming problems, and (ii) inability (e.g., due to neurological, mental, or physical disabilities) to indicate in time, non-availability of emergency call devices. A diminished quality of life, e.g., through anxiety due to experienced helplessness in former emergency situations, hospitalisation and residual deficits, and additional costs for the individual and the society are the typical results. Late arrival means a higher probability of residual deficits and thus decreased quality of life for the concerned persons and increased costs for the individual and society as a whole.
False indications. A substantial amount (60%) of emergency calls do not have a significant emergency indication. Social deprivation and restricted mobility increase the risk of “inadequate” emergency calls, especially in people with lower social status. In this case the “emergency” is not a medical, but a social emergency that should better be handled by social welfare institutions.
Lack of information. Information, e.g., on vital functions, current situation in situ, etc., which would allow a qualified initial assessment, an “intelligent" disposition, and an early support of the approaching EMS is not available today.
Low acceptance. Existing emergency assistance devices (EAD) are often not used, due to difficult handling (unsuitable interfaces) or obtrusive devices and sensors that hamper during dressing and daily life. As a result, the systems cannot provide their service in emergencies.
Lack of preventive assistance. Existing EAD focus on the detection and indication of current emergencies. The early detection and active prevention of emergencies is still an open field.
Limited solutions. Current EAD are limited regarding the following qualities:
The goal of EMERGE is to improve emergency assistance through early detection and proactive prevention, as well as unobtrusive sensing. As a consequence, quality of life for elderly people will increase and costs for EMS can be leveraged for the elderly as well as for society. The main innovation of EMERGE is to provide a model for recurring behaviours and experiences of elderly people following a holistic approach in order to detect deviations from their typical behaviour and to reason on acute disorders in their health condition.