IMPRESS validated in a cross border Table Top Exercise

The final IMPRESS system was tested and validated at a Table Top Exercise (TTX), that was successfully conducted in Sofia, Bulgaria on 16th of March 2017. The exercise was organized by IICT-BAS, KEMEA, EKEPY and INTRASOFT and hosted by NATO CMDR Center of Excellence in Shipka Hotel, Sofia. IMPRESS system was operated by Greek and Bulgarian operators-stakeholders from public services and hospitals from both countries, following a one day hands-on training session that took place on March 15, 2017.

Modelling Trauma Physiology for Large Crisis Management

In recent years, there has been a rise in Major Incidents with big impact on the citizens health and the society. Without the possibility of conducting live experiments when it comes to physical trauma, only an accurate in-silico reconstruction allows us to identify organizational solutions with the best possible chance of success, in correlation with the limitations on available resources (e.g. medical team, first responders, treatments, transports, and hospitals availability) and with the variability of the characteristic of event (e.g. type of incident, severity of the event and type of lesions).
Utilizing modelling and simulation techniques, a simplified mathematical model of physiological evolution for patients involved in physical trauma incident scenarios has been developed and implemented. The model formalizes the dynamics, operating standards and practices of medical response and the main emergency service in the chain of emergency management during a Major Incident.

IMPRESS Project Decision Support Tool in Real Test Case Scenario Application

In the framework of the FP7 funded project under the call for Security, named IMPRESS, a large consortia with representatives from the ICT sector, along with medical doctors and state owned organizations had focus its efforts on an idea to built up a decision support tool in favor of medical teams first responding in cases of disasters. This tool is having potential to provide shortest path to the medical teams in the ambulances when it comes to localization and also provide information in the headquarters what expectations for injuries and collapsed infrastructures can be seen on the field when providing first aid to the affected people. One of the scenarios developed for test purposes under the project IMPRESS is located on the border area between Bulgaria and Greece in Kresna Gorge, where will be simulated a major earthquake plus massive flood event from Struma river which cause E-79 high speed road collapse and over 750 people with many fractures and injuries. This figures bring the Bulgarian health system in the area and the state representatives in the local government of Blagoevgrad to ask national and international help in order to save as many lives as possible. In our paper we will describe the Project DSS structure and the cross-border scenario tests and first results.

In June 14th 2016, Dr Nina Dobrinkova from IICT-BAS (IMPRESS project member) presented "IMPRESS Project Decision Support Tool in Real Test Case Scenario Application" during SEMINAR WITH EU COOPERATION ON EARLY WARNING AND DISASTER / CRISIS MANAGEMENT session of the 6th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CARTOGRAPHY AND GIS.
The Conference took place between 13th and 17th of June, in Albena Bulgaria. The aim of the conference is to collect knowledge and share experience about the latest achievements in the field of cartography and GIS. Nowadays, particular attention is paid to the important European region – the Balkan Peninsula.
Further to the conference topics, a Seminar with EU Cooperation on Early Warning & Disaster / Crisis Management Topics, and a Interactive workshop on “Designing and Conducting User Studies”, have been conducted.
You can download IMPRESS paper for this conference through the Publication area or directly through here.
 Conference proceedings and photos from the event are availiable thorugh the official website.

Brussels attacks – A message from EENA #OpenHouse

In the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, the EENA team would like to thank everyone for the supportive messages and concern. Our thoughts are with the people affected by these hard times, to whom we wish courage and strength.

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Preperation of IMPRESS Palermo demo.

In the beginning of March, preparation actions for IMPRESS Palermo demo and related meetings with involved agencies and organizations took place by CNR and KEMEA in Palermo (Italy).

IMPRESS solution presented to emergency professionals and post-graduate students

KEMEA presented to an audience of emergency professionals and post-graduate students the concept of IMPRESS and the relative solution designed for managing and organize information and data in context of multi-casualty incidents and large disasters. The presentation was included in the program of a training event that took place in the Library of the Medical School of Athens the dates 19 and 20/2/2016 and it was linked to the postgraduate program of the Faculty of Medicine, titled “International Medicine / Health-Crisis Management”.

IMPRESS Project Overview

IMPRESS has released the 1st short video presentation of the project's overview.

For more information you can visit the project's website or IMPRESS youtube channel

IMPRESS and “Disaster Medicine and Health-Crisis Management” MSc

In order to strengthen IMPRESS dissemination activity, KEMEA has established close collaboration with the postgraduate course (MSc) on “Disaster Medicine and Health-Crisis Management” (http://crisis.med.uoa.gr) of the Faculty of Medicine of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.   

Germany train crash: Several killed near Bavarian town of Bad Aibling

The head-on crash happened near Bad Aibling, a spa town about 60km (37 miles) south-east of Munich.
The trains' operator said both trains had partially derailed and were wedged into each other.
Emergency teams, some winched in by helicopter, worked for hours to free casualties from the wreckage.

EENA Annual Report 2015 now available! (Drones, emergency apps, caller location, and much more: Read about EENA's work in 2015.)

EENA has published the Annual Report for 2015!

If you are interested in the emergency services and public safety field, then read about EENA’s work on drones, emergency apps, caller location, publications and events, awareness of 112, and more important moments of their work in this short overview of 2015.

Just In Time Disaster Training - Library

DRC Group has developed an on-line video library, in order to provide a single, easy to search source in which individuals, agencies and organizations can access Just In Time Disaster Training videos.

The videos found in this library cover disaster related mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery training for a wide variety areas.

EENA joins ‘HELP 112’ EU project to improve caller location in emergencies

EENA launched the ‘HELP 112’ project that will run for 1 year with the aim of improving caller location information transferred to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs).

EENA Conference 2016 - Online registrations are open!

Each year, the EENA Conference brings together European emergency services, public authorities, researchers and industry representatives from all over Europe and beyond! About 500 delegates from more than 50 countries are expected at the EENA Conference which is an action packed 3 days of information sharing, discussions and debates.

'PEMEA Architecture' document published by EENA Technical Committee

There are presently hundreds of emergency calling applications in use across Europe but none of them permit seamless roaming and so are constrained in where they can be used.

Stronger EU response for medical emergencies

From 9 to 12 October 2015, civil protection teams from several EU countries took part in a joint operation which aimed to reinforce the capability of Europe to respond to medical emergencies.

The second meeting of IMPRESS project stakeholders took place in Dresden (12/10/2015)

The second meeting of the IMPRESS consortium with the advisory board of experts and project stakeholders (SAG) took place in Dresden, Germany the 12 of October 2015. The SAG meeting was organized by KEMEA and hosted by Fraunhofer IVI.  Fifteen experts participated to the meeting and contributed their expertise and experience concerning the operational approach and the relative technical solution that is adopted by the consortium. 

Italian user group meeting at Palermo (2/10/2015)

The Italian Council for Research (CNR) organized on Friday, October 2 2015, in close collaboration with the Italian Civil Protection (PCI),  the first meeting concerning the “Palermo Demo” of IMPRESS solution. The meeting held at the facilities of CNR in Palermo. 

2nd Stakeholders Advisory Group Workshop

A European workshop (the second in a row of three) organized by the IMPRESS consortium will take place at the Fraunhofer Institute for Transportation and Infrastructure Systems in Dresden, Germany in October, 12th of 2015.

Integration of volunteers and public: organisations and communication channels, possible functions, procedures

People affected by an extra-ordinary public health challenge (EOPHC), e.g. in situations of mass emergencies or disasters, cannot be reduced to the status of (passive) victims or to irrationally acting or panicking crowds. Even a well-prepared and coordinated Health Emergency Management System (HEMS) cannot control or anticipate the dynamics resulting from the decisions, actions and reactions, needs, demands and perceptions, as well as of the healthcare-seeking behaviour of people affected by an emergency.  In a mass emergency, uninjured, slightly injured, even some seriously injured survivors, their relatives present on-scene as well as bystanders or witnesses do not passively wait for (external) emergency assistance and the arrival of first responders. They take actions on site and move to hospitals nearby or even further away. This behaviour adds even more challenges to the health system and requires flexible adaptations in the health response.  Furthermore, events resulting in an EOPHC do not only have adverse effects on the health status of a community, but may - even temporarily - increase feelings and acts of solidarity and incite collaborative attitudes, contributing to disaster resilience. 

Use Cases, Benchmarking and validation framework of IMPRESS

IMPRESS platform has to be measured through a set of use case scenarios. They offer the opportunity for testing interoperability  between  the IMPRESS components, for filling the gap between business level (process models), technical level (workflows definition, web-services implementation) and user requirements,  and  for demonstration of a better communication between  several  different  organisations  that  seek  improved  interoperability.