Hastings-Quinte Chief of Paramedics Doug Socha (File photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
Hastings County is joining forces with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The project aims to help provide tailored situational awareness information that will support and improve paramedic decision making and quality of patient care during critical incidents.
The partnership will allow both countries to reach their goal faster and more efficiently, eliminating duplication of effort and optimizing funding.
The system; named AUDREY, the Assistant for Understanding Data through Reasoning, Extraction and sYnthesis was developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services Chief Doug Socha says he is thrilled they are part of this ground-breaking research.
Paramedics will communicate with AUDREY and use it to fill out a report on a patient, something that is currently done directly with a doctor, who then completes a form.
This new system would send the doctor a completed form, without having to gather the data.
Local tests will begin in Hastings County next year.
Socha says the hope is that giving professionals access to more information will improve care.
U.S. partners will be completing different tests on the system.
Tests are intended to prepare the artificial intelligence system for real-world use.
Hastings County is the only paramedic service involved in this project.
The project will take place over two years.
No real world testing is planned at this point.
A link to a video demonstrating AUDREY can be found here.
