ESA project tests health emergency management via satellite
6 December 2007 A training exercise in Greece has shown the viability
of a satellite system for early warning and management of health emergencies
in disaster situations. The exercise simulated an earthquake on the island
of Crete which caused widespread damage and all conventional, terrestrial
communications have been destroyed. The rescue operations have only one
means at their disposal that has not been affected by the quake — a
satellite which, from its altitude of 36 000 kilometres, can immediately
link the locations involved in the catastrophe with the appropriate
authorities.
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A rescue helicopter |
The two-day training exercise was conducted in the frame of the SAFE project
(satellite for health early warning and for epidemiology), part of the ESA
approach to understanding users' needs and developing tools adapted to those
needs.
The aim was to support a user-driven strategy allowing for a joint effort
in Europe and an improved efficiency for interventions in the event of
natural disasters and for post-crisis management. Crete was chosen as the
site of the exercise as it is liable to earthquakes, making it a suitable
site to demonstrate a system that can not only be used for emergency
response coordination but also for understanding the health situation and
monitoring for epidemics that are the frequent consequences of natural
disasters. In several sites on Crete, such as a power plant, a beach, and
a hotel, the response of the rescue teams was tested as they were
communicating via a satellite network. A dialogue was set up with voice and
video between the teams on site and a centre for control and co-ordination
in the city of Heraklion, which allowed a quick assessment of the means
needed to set up and facilitate the process of intervention. On the second
day after the earthquake and its emergency management by local authorities,
a scenario involving an epidemiological threat was staged. Analysis of
victims sheltered in a camp quickly made it obvious that there was a threat
of gastroenteritis. Specialised doctors communicating by satellite from
Heraklion or Athens could immediately help the teams on site. The first help
provided was to understand the nature of the epidemic and treat the patients
when the first symptoms were exhibited. Secondly, assistance was provided to
determine the origin of the epidemic and take the necessary measures to stop
the problem from spreading. The demonstration showed that space technology
can contribute to faster and more efficient rescue and assistance in the
field, taking advantage of the expertise of specialists from distant
locations and offering the possibility of raising alerts in the event of
epidemiological risks. The SAFE pilot project is co-funded by ESA and
coordinated by MEDES (Institut de Médecine et de Physiologie Spatiales), in
partnership with the Greek Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH).
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