First responder help facilitated by the mobile cloud

Abstract

This paper presents a novel system that allows mobile users to have access to healthcare services in the case of emergencies. The cloud hosts a directory service containing a list of pre-registered professionals, such as doctors and nurses. Once a registered user sends a help message to the first responder cloud service, a look-up operation is started to search for the most suitable medical professional, taking into account the location of both users. Then, the cloud service will establish/monitor a communication link between the person requesting aid and the selected professional whereby these two users can start a chat session to exchange messages. For the purpose of enhancing system availability and dealing with connection issues, SMS is provided as an alternative communication method. The paper includes screenshots of the application and experimental data regarding setting up the connection between someone in an emergency situation and the first responder. The experimental results show that the amount of time needed to set up communication between users and medical professionals is around five seconds, which means no extra time will be added to the total medical response time. This will increase the chance of a better outcome.