ZEROCODE

A silent crisis is developing in the medical industry; offload delay is on the rise. Offload delay begins 30 mins after a paramedic team arrives at a receiving hospital and signifies the time elapsed before paramedics hand over patient care to the hospital. One of the leading causes of offload delay is overcrowded emergency departments. At the same time, the demand for emergent patient transfer is increasing. The delay keeps paramedics in hospitals, reducing the number of available paramedics responding to a city’s emergencies. Occasionally, all paramedics within a city will become unavailable, resulting in a city's inability to respond to new emergencies; this is sometimes referred to as a CODE 0. Additionally, during busy times in the emergency department, effective communication between paramedics and receiving medical professionals can begin to break down, possibly leading to delays later. Finally, cleaning and filing medical charts can further delay the paramedic team from becoming available for the next patient. The ZEROCODE system addresses this problem on multiple fronts. The ZEROCODE system increases the efficiency in multiple components of patient transfer, from the reduction of the number of wires connected to the patient to storing and transferring patient data in real-time. This thesis project will use various research methods to understand the needs of both critical care paramedics and their patients. Information will be gained through sources such as interviews and user observational studies. Sources for primary research will originate from existing contacts in the first-responder industry with the intent to meet new sources through secondary connections. Additionally, preliminary research will be directed and fortified by secondary research methods such as literary reviews. The information gathered from this investigation has the potential to help not only paramedics but also all who use their services. Driven by the data collected, an evidence-based solution will be tested through sketch models and a full-size mock-up to evaluate the design’s ergonomics. The final solution will potentially allow paramedics to save lives more effectively.