ArticlePloS one2018
Significant acceleration of emergency response using smartphone geolocation data and a worldwide emergency call support system.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Telemedicine for the detection and management of in-hospital and out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest: Status quo and quo vadis.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2025Review
- Designing, development and validation of an app to reduce the response time of the emergency medical services.PloS one · 2024Article
- Challenges Locating the Scene of Emergency: A Qualitative Study of the EMS System in Rwanda.Prehospital emergency care · 2024Article
- Challenges and opportunities to improve efficiency and quality of prehospital emergency care using an mHealth platform: Qualitative study in Rwanda.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2023Article
- Proposing an International Standard Accident Number for Interconnecting Information and Communication Technology Systems of the Rescue Chain.Methods of information in medicine · 2021Article
- Patient triage system for supporting the operation of dispatch centres and rescue teams.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
importanceWhen patients are disorientated or experience language barriers, it is impossible to activate the emergency response system. In these cases, the delay for receiving appropriate help can extend to several hours.
objectivesA worldwide emergency call support system (ECSS), including geolocation of modern smartphones (GPS, WLAN and LBS), was established referring to E911 and eCall systems. The system was tested for relevance in quickly forwarding abroad emergency calls to emergency medical services (EMS).
designTo verify that geolocation data from smartphones are exact enough to be used for emergency cases, the accuracy of GPS (global positioning system), Wi-Fi (wireless LAN network) and LBS (location based system) was tested in eleven different countries and compared to actual location. The main objective was analyzed by simulation of emergencies in different countries. The time delay in receiving help in unsuccessful emergency call cases by using the worldwide emergency call support system (ECSS) was measured.
resultsGPS is the gold standard to locate patients with an average accuracy of 2.0 ± 3.3 m. Wi-Fi can be used within buildings with an accuracy of 7.0 ± 24.1 m. Using ECSS, the emergency call leads to a successful activation of EMS in 22.8 ± 10.8 min (Median 21 min). The use of a simple app with one button to touch did never cause any delay. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The worldwide emergency call support system (ECSS) significantly improves the emergency response in cases of disorientated patients or language barriers. Under circumstances without ECSS, help can be delayed by 2 or more hours and might have relevant lifesaving effects. This is the first time that Wi-Fi geolocation could prove to be a useful improvement in emergencies to enhance GPS, especially within or close to buildings.
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