Disaster Relief and Emergency Medical Services Project (DREAMS TM): Digital EMS

Abstract : Physician's virtual presence in support of the first responding care-givers at the scene of the incident will create the opportunity for achieving an accurate initial evaluation of the victim's clinical condition and a timely initiation of appropriate interventions. Any condition that interferes with adequate blood flow will cause an impairment of tissue oxygenation, the results of which are cell injury and, if sufficiently prolonged, cell death. The interval of time between the acute catastrophic events that initiate the decrease in blood flow and the establishment of therapies to reverse this cascade of cell injury is critical. Any measure that shortens the interval between the injury and the institution of appropriate therapy will afford the greatest potential for minimizing cell injury and preventing cell death. The DREAMS: Digital EMS project is designed specifically to address these issues.