Kick-off meeting for KIT² project to develop better medical emergency response with AI.
The key ingredients for effective AI solutions are a suitable problem, domain experts, and data. Today, we were happy to meet the TNA (Telenotarzt, remote emergency doctor) team in Aachen during the KIT² kick-off meeting. The TNA team are clearly distinct experts in the field of remote medical emergency response. They covered more than 30 000 cases since the service was launched in 2014 as the first remotely assisted emergency support system in Europe.
The BMBF funded collaboration project KIT² aims to support the TNA (remote emergency doctor) with an AI-based decision system. The TNA is an emergency doctor who is virtually present at a medical emergency situation. This virtual presence allows them to
- conduct diagnostics,
- prescribe medication / treatments and
- improve operational decisions.
The TNA has to find optimal decisions for the next actions, based on diverse information inputs within a limited time-frame. To support the decision making process of the TNA, an assistance system will be developed which provides intelligent recommendations via AI.
Present at the kick-off meeting were the project partners:
- Aachener Institut für Rettungsmedizin & Zivile Sicherheit (ARS)
- Uniklinik RWTH Aachen
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
- Umlaut Telehealthcare GmbH
- Palaimon GmbH
After an initial planning meeting with the project partners, we visited the facilities of Aachen main fire station (Hauptfeuerwache). Here, we got a demonstration of the on-board diagnostics of an RTW (Rettungswagen, ambulance) that are linked via mobile communication systems GSM and UMTS in real-time to the TNA.
We also joined the workplace of a TNA and even saw them operating in a real emergency situation. We were impressed to see the potential of the system the and direct impact of the technology and decision making involving humans lives. Luckily, the emergency turned out to be of minor severity.
In a discussion with the TNA team, we already touched on specific problem formulations and how AI could improve the strategic operations of the TNA. For the next three years we will develop a demonstrator for a decision making assistance system with the project partners which will be tested within the TNA test system.
More information on the project objective is provided in the official press release for the KIT² kick-off meeting (in German) which was published in the ‘Aachener Zeitung am Sonntag’ and can be downloaded here.