 | 
| ||
| home > General Motors > news | |||
| OnStar Creates Injury Severity Prediction to Improve Automatic Crash Response
Based on findings of CDC expert panel which used OnStar data | |||
| 20 May 2009
, Detroit
: OnStar has developed an Injury Severity Prediction based on the findings of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel which will allow OnStar advisors to alert first responders when a vehicle crash is likely to have caused serious injury to the occupants. Using a collection of built-in vehicle sensors, OnStar Automatic Crash Response system sends crash data to an advisor if the vehicle is involved in a moderate or severe front, rear or side-impact crash. The data includes crash severity, along with the direction of impact, air bag deployment, multiple impacts and vehicle type. This information will then be used to automatically calculate the Injury Severity Prediction which comes back as a Normal or High score. When an advisor tells first responders there is an Injury Severity Prediction of High it will signify that there is a higher risk of severe injury and help the responders determine what level of care required and the transport destination for patients. This estimate should be available to OnStar advisors early next year. “The OnStar Injury Severity Prediction will speak for our subscribers, even when they cannot speak for themselves,” said Chet Huber, president, OnStar. “This technology is like a virtual witness to the crash, based on data which is more precise than eye-witness accounts.” The CDC recently published the findings of a panel of more than 20 emergency medical physicians, trauma surgeons, public safety and vehicle safety experts who reviewed real-time crash data from OnStar’s Automatic Crash Response vehicle telematics system and similar systems from other companies to help improve emergency transport and treatment of crash victims. The panel meetings were funded by a $250,000 grant from OnStar and the GM Foundation to the CDC Foundation. As a federal agency, CDC does not promote or endorse specific products. The science behind the Injury Severity Prediction is backed by the findings of some of the best minds in the world of crash response and trauma medicine. “Seconds matter following severe trauma and accurate assessment of occupant injury severity by rescue personnel at the scene will allow them to properly prioritize the treatment and transport of crash occupants,” said Stewart C. Wang, MD, PhD, FACS, Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan Trauma Center. “OnStar’s Injury Severity Prediction will help save many lives and prevent the numerous complications that result from delayed treatment of injuries. “Many crash occupants have neither external wounds nor significant symptoms at the scene despite life-threatening internal injuries. This technology will help rescuers to urgently identify and transport these occupants for needed medical treatment,” said Dr. Wang. Dr. Wang also directs a federally funded program (www.crashedu.org) that educates EMS and medical personnel in the proper use of Automatic Crash Response data and Injury Severity Prediction. OnStar will continue to work with the first responder communities to educate them about this new enhancement to help them make use of the Injury Severity Prediction as an additional tool in their triage decisions in addition to the existing crash data elements that are still available to advisors. With over 13 years of experience, OnStar has provided assistance in over 100,000 Automatic Crash Responses and received over 1 million emergency calls for help. The Injury Severity Prediction will be available on all vehicles equipped with Automatic Crash Response technology. GM has sold over 7 million vehicles with OnStar Automatic Crash Response. Automatic Crash Response, first introduced on the MY 2004 Chevy Malibu, evolved from airbag deployment notification systems, which alert OnStar Advisors if a subscriber’s airbag has deployed. Airbag deployment notification systems have been on OnStar-equipped vehicles since 1997. For more information on OnStar and Automatic Crash Response, please visit www.onstar.com. For more information about the CDC study and additional contact information, please visit: www.cdcfoundation.org/pr. |
|||
| | ||
| home > General Motors > news | |||
 |
|||
| |||