Automatic Crash Notifications & the Future of Crash Response

This article was originally published in EMSWorld News. 

Automatic Crash Notification Can Predict Injury

Results of a recent study suggest that advanced automatic crash notification (AACN) technology, which sends telemetry data in the event of a motor vehicle accident, can be used to accurately predict the injury severity of vehicle occupants.

The research by Stewart Wang, MD, PhD, director of the Program for Injury Research and Education at the University of Michigan and a trauma surgeon, analyzed data from 836 vehicles with OnStar AACN capabilities that were involved in crashes involving 924 occupants between January 2008 and August 2011.

Wang used an algorithm to analyze three types of data from each accident: crash factors, vehicle factors and occupant factors. Results of the algorithm were then used to predict whether each vehicle occupant met the 20% or higher risk of having an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 15+, which is the threshold set by the National Expert Panel on Field Triage for urgent transport to a trauma center.

Accuracy of Advanced Automatic Crash Notification Data
The Wang et al. study1 showed that when the gender and age of the vehicle occupants were known, the algorithm could use AACN data to predict which occupants had a high likelihood of severe injury with a sensitivity of 64% and a specificity of 96%. Without information about age and gender, the sensitivity was 45% while the specificity was 98%.

“Sixty-three percent sensitivity may not sound like an impressive number but when you look at the experience over the last four to five decades, it is a significant improvement,” says Wang. “Even trained personnel are no more than 40%–50% accurate in picking out patients with severe injuries.

Future Ally For EMS: Automatic Crash Notifications

“In the past, EMS did not usually receive AACN data or if they did, they were appropriately skeptical because it was a prediction that wasn’t proven. But with this new trial, we know we should be taking AACN very seriously. If the vehicle is reporting that there is a high risk of severe injury, you should see that report as at least as accurate or more accurate than your best colleague.”

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