From the set of perspectives taken, the study illustrates that mobile computing technologies offer new and innovative approaches to improve intersectional acute stroke care. It also teaches the participants that interdisciplinary research can significantly deepen the understanding of such technologies and projects, which can lead to better decision making concerning solution implementation, management and improvements. The approach will be brought into daily practice in Bad Neustadt/Saale within the next months.

Background Trauma is a global burden. Emergency medical services (EMS) provide care for individuals who have serious injuries or suffered a major trauma. Objective This paper provides a comprehensive overview of telemedicine applications in prehospital trauma care. Methods We conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. We identified articles by electronic database search (PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, SpringerLink, LIVIVO, DARE, IEEE Xplore, Google Scholar and ScienceDirect) using keywords related to prehospital settings, ambulance, telemedicine and trauma. Search terms and inclusion criteria were specified a priori by the PICOS template and revised throughout a configurative approach iteratively, to outline the complexity and variety of different telemedical concepts. Results A final sample of 15 records was systematically selected. Most interventions were piloted and/or evaluated in Germany for trauma victims in prehospital settings. Six studies were simulated scenarios. Telemedical assistance (TMA) via real-time telemetry systems (RTS), enabling video and audio conferencing between EMS by tele-emergency physicians (TEP) were associated with a higher treatment quality and a shorter time-to-treatment in invasive procedures. By initiating in-hospital preparations based on telemedical prehospital notification (TPN), loss of information during the clinical handover was reduced and in-hospital protocols were activated with high accuracy. Remotely guided ultrasound (Tele-Ultrasound) by TEP showed an overall high diagnostic accuracy in simulations. Technical solutions were reliable, seemed practical and auspicious. Conclusion The review indicates that TMA and TPN are accompanying telemedical concepts in out-of-hospital trauma care. Well-designed populated studies are needed to fully assess the effect of telemedicine in acute trauma care. Therefore, evidence regarding the effectiveness of telemedicine in prehospital setting for trauma patients is still limited.

ABSTRACT:Enhancing situational awareness in real-time (RT) civil protection and emergency response scenarios requires the development of comprehensive monitoring concepts combining classical remote sensing disciplines with geospatial information science. In the VABENE++ project of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) monitoring tools are being developed by which innovative data acquisition approaches are combined with information extraction as well as the generation and dissemination of information products to a specific user. DLR's 3K and 4k camera system which allow for a RT acquisition and pre-processing of high resolution aerial imagery are applied in two application examples conducted with end users: a civil protection exercise with humanitarian relief organisations and a large open-air music festival in cooperation with a festival organising company. This study discusses how airborne remote sensing can significantly contribute to both, situational assessment and awareness, focussing on the downstream processes required for extracting information from imagery and for visualising and disseminating imagery in combination with other geospatial information. Valuable user feedback and impetus for further developments has been obtained from both applications, referring to innovations in thematic image analysis (supporting festival site management) and product dissemination (editable web services). Thus, this study emphasises the important role of user involvement in application-related research, i.e. by aligning it closer to user's requirements.

The train crash of Bad Aibling/Germany in February 2016 and the terrorist attacks of the recent years in Europe have demonstrated the urgent need to be prepared for such disastrous events. Disaster preparedness and disaster control are very important governmental duties, as are civil protection and civil defense. In Germany the responsibility for those tasks are divided between the 16 "Länder" and the Federation. While the Federation takes care of the civil protection and disaster assistance, the Länder are responsible for disaster control. The presented article focuses on these issues and gives valuable insights into the German system of disaster control and civil protection with a focus on health protection.