Pre-Mission Analysis of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Operations: Project Update

Research is currently being undertaken, in close collaboration with Air Ambulance Victoria, to develop an intelligent system for the pre-mission analysis of Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations. This research is being conducted for the next two years as a project under the Australian Research Council. The aim is to develop a knowledge based expert system that will assist flight-coordinators and crew in the decision-making processes faced prior to aero-medical operations. HEMS operate around-the-clock, in all-weather conditions, and often with no fore-warning. In a time critical operation, where precious minutes may cost lives, the crew must decide which cases dictate a HEMS response and if so, whether the conditions are safe to conduct the mission. This paper provides an overview of the decision support system under development which is capable of supporting the decision-making processes faced prior to aero-medical operations