About the project
In addition to providing national emergency services with helicopters, Rega is also active globally. Abroad, they offer telephone consultations, and in critical conditions, patients can be transported home using the Rega air ambulance jets or on a commercial flight with medical accompaniment. The handling of patients abroad requires detailed knowledge of the prevailing conditions in the affected region, its infrastructure, and available medical services.
© Rega
Rega's Geographic Information System (GIS) organises and processes information about hospitals, air and ground ambulances, airports, and other points of interest (POI) for use by the mission coordinators. Rega has gathered first hand information about responsibilities, expertise and experiences for elaborate decision making. They can be searched and filtered in a manner similar to how we're accustomed to using Google Maps, for example.
Additionally the system also geographically maps currently active medical cases of Rega patients. By correlating this patient data with local POI, the Rega GIS provides intelligent recommendations to flight coordinators. This ensures that the most suitable institutions and service providers are selected for each individual mission, maintaining Rega's high quality standards. This way the Rega GIS tool ensures that patients receive optimal treatment in the shortest possible time.
The prioritization of POI suggested by the GIS follows a clearly defined logic. Parameters such as the distance to the patient, geographic responsibility areas, partner organisations, certifications, and other factors are taken into account and result in a ranking of possible options.
It also offers the possibility to calculate route distances and durations on ground as well as in the air.
Additionally the system also geographically maps currently active medical cases of Rega patients. By correlating this patient data with local POI, the Rega GIS provides intelligent recommendations to flight coordinators. This ensures that the most suitable institutions and service providers are selected for each individual mission, maintaining Rega's high quality standards. This way the Rega GIS tool ensures that patients receive optimal treatment in the shortest possible time.
The prioritization of POI suggested by the GIS follows a clearly defined logic. Parameters such as the distance to the patient, geographic responsibility areas, partner organisations, certifications, and other factors are taken into account and result in a ranking of possible options.
It also offers the possibility to calculate route distances and durations on ground as well as in the air.
In addition to mission coordination, there is a data management role responsible for maintenance of the data points. This role ensures that the metadata of the recorded POI is accurate and up-to-date.
Since the geographic coverage area is important for many POI, a visual editor has been designed to allow data managers to draw and manage these operational areas as polygons. On one hand, it is possible to load specific regions from a geodatabase, while on the other, users can manually draw new polygons. Multiple polygons can be merged or subtracted from one another, resulting in a precise definition of the coverage area.
Since the geographic coverage area is important for many POI, a visual editor has been designed to allow data managers to draw and manage these operational areas as polygons. On one hand, it is possible to load specific regions from a geodatabase, while on the other, users can manually draw new polygons. Multiple polygons can be merged or subtracted from one another, resulting in a precise definition of the coverage area.
Our efforts
Redefine adopted an iterative approach, starting with initial wireframes and gradually refining the design in a user-centric process. We conducted workshops with emergency service professionals, gathering valuable feedback at each stage. By using interactive prototypes and validating the concepts in user workshops, we ensured that the final product meets the target group's expectations. This process ensured that the tool is not only user friendly but also perfectly aligned with the operational demands of emergency dispatch systems.
