PreTest - a mobile test bed for prehospital care

Important results from the project

In the project, a mobile prehospital test bed - a test ambulance - has been established, tested and evaluated. The test bed´s work methods, equipment and competence network have been made available for innovation, research and development in ambulance care. It has also been used as a demonstrator at symposia, conferences and trade fairs. This has highlighted the role and challenges of ambulance care in completely new contexts, and exhibited the possibilities of the test bed.

Expected long term effects

The test bed is established as a working method and competence network. Its value lies in the flexible availability of an ambulance and access to the competence network around it. The project enabled realistic tests of new technology, methods and processes and served as an important component in the implementation of regional prehospital video support for stroke assessment. The approach provides good conditions for successful and innovative prehospital development, and has strengthened the network around PICTA, PreHospen and VGR as a hub for prehospital innovation and research.

Approach and implementation

The test bed was used for several different purposes and situations, including development, testing, and training in a regional introduction of video between ambulance and stroke physician; a research project on ambulance staff´s treatment of patients with dyspnea; a development project on AI-based decision support to identify the risk of sepsis in an ambulance; user tests of Medfield´s product MD-100 by ambulance personnel at two operations in VGR. The test bed was evaluated through questionnaires with ambulance personnel who rated realism, empathy and usability highly.