Ambulances will arrive more quickly (scientific blog)

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Thanks to a geoinformation system developed at the AGH University of Science and Technology, the time of ambulance arrival in the Małopolska region will be shorter. It is the first application of this type in Poland.  

 

The innovative method has been developed by professor Adam Piórkowski of the Department of Geoinformatics and Applied Computer Science at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection together with the students of the Special Interest Group “Geos Informatica”. “In the previous academic year, the representatives of the Małopolska Voivodeship Office approached us with a request whether the students of the Special Interest Group could develop of an application that would improve the dispatch of ambulances in the Małopolska region so that they could reach all desired destinations in time. Because some time ago I calculated a similar thing for the needs of Great Britain and Germany, I had knowledge how to design a proper system. Therefore, I supported our students from the Special Interest Group “Geos Informatica” suggesting some related topics of bachelor theses,” says professor Adam Piórkowski. Despite the fact that the young researchers are going to defend their degree dissertations only at the end of the current semester, the needed system has already been partly developed and implemented. In June 2015, the first draft of the application was created, and a month later there was the first presentation of what had already been done. Initially, the AGH UST scientists developed a map that showed the optimum locations of ambulances for the city of Krakow with the accuracy of 250 metres. In September, the map was ready for the whole of the Małopolska region.  

 

The work was accomplished through a computing cluster, because maps of such high accuracy require a great number of calculations. “There was so much data that we were worried that our computers would not have enough memory, but in the end everything went well,” adds professor Piórkowski. For the purpose of the project, we had to develop special software suitable for distributed processing. The calculations are a subject of one of the theses. The scientists implemented two applications. The first one is meant to help plan the locations of ambulances in the entire Małopolska region in such a way that each ambulance can reach a desired destination as soon as possible and does not exceed the time limit determined by legal regulations – 15 minutes in built-up areas, and 20 minutes in other locations. Currently, there are 119 ambulances in the Małopolska region. However, it is still quite difficult to plan their locations in such a way that the arrival time to a patient is possibly the shortest. Also, the idea is that ambulances await a call in such locations that they have to cover the shortest possible distance. Now, the optimum locations for ambulances will be calculated by the AGH UST geoinformation system.

The second application developed at the Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection is dynamic. On the basis of the GPS data from the ambulances awaiting a call or returning from a patient, it is possible to visualise their current location in the region – thanks to the system it will be easy to check the location of ambulances and calculate the times they need to reach a desired destination. In the case of a disaster, the function will make it easier to take a decision which ambulances should be sent to the disaster area so that the other locations are not left without emergency services coverage. The computer will tell the dispatcher which ambulance will reach the destination in the shortest time, and it will also suggest how the other ambulances should be re-located so that despite an exceptional emergency situation the citizens of the entire region are not left without help. “Currently, the second application has an option of identifying the first three ambulances capable of reaching a destination marked on the map in the shortest time,” explains professor Piórkowski. Asked if the program supports the monitoring of traffic congestion in real time, the scientist answered that they had thought about it. “There are such Google Maps applications which take into account traffic volume, and they could be added to the developed system. However, when we checked whether it was necessary, it turned out that on many occasions ambulances use bus lanes and tram railway to avoid traffic jams – they have the right of way which is obeyed by car drivers who move out of the way even on narrow streets with heavy traffic,” adds the researcher. A precise determination of the characteristics of ambulances as traffic vehicles is the subject of another thesis of one of the students who are involved in the project.  

 

Ambulance dispatchers are not using the geoinformation system yet, but it has already been handed over to the planners of the voivodeship office who are responsible for the location of ambulances in the Małopolska region. Work on an application for ambulance dispatchers is already in progress. It will probably be completed within a month’s time. The application is worked on by the best students from the Special Interest Group “Geos Informatica”. “I would like to thank the students involved in the project, as well as Kamil Szostak, MSc, supervisor of the Special Interest Group, for the coordination of work, help in legal aspects, and collaboration with me,” says professor Adam Piórkowski.  

 

Jerzy Miller, Małopolska Voivode, announced that from 1^st January, 2016, the Małopolska region will have 5 new ambulances. They will be based in Piwniczna, Mszana Dolna, Sułkowice, Zawoja, and Ochotnica Dolna. Why there? Because ambulance arrival times to patients in these towns and neighbouring places have so far been the longest.  

 

Every year, ambulances go to patients about 200 thousand times.  

 

Written by Ilona Trębacz  

 

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