Rescufy: the first Mobile eHealth solution utilizing text-to-911
Rescufy represents an advance in using mobile devices to improve health care delivery and addresses a real need faced by millions of people. Rescufy set out to help people undergoing a critical health event, a severe allergic reaction to a chemical, Anaphylaxis. When anaphylaxis occurs, the individual quickly loses consciousness. For quick and appropriate treatment it is critical to notify emergency responders of location, known allergies, time of reaction, emergency contacts, and medications used.
PROJECT DETAILS
Rescufy is the first mobile application utilizing upcoming capabilities of Text-to-911. The application serves as a checklist that streamlines the action plan for responding to severe allergic reactions from food allergies, particularly for parents and caregivers. Rescufy allows people with allergies to get help quickly in case of anaphylactic shock, and provide emergency medical technicians and hospital personnel essential background information about the patient. Rescufy allows for a more effective, potentially life-saving, treatment of an unconscious or otherwise incapacitated patient.
Rescufy has engaged Kanda Software to demonstrate the Proof of Concept for an application that would send texts to 911 with pertinent information and call 911 via speakerphone in the event the user is in anaphylactic shock and may lose consciousness before help arrives. The end user of this app would be any individual at risk for anaphylaxis, who would then use it as part of his/her anaphylaxis action plan.
REQUIREMENTS:
To enable first responders and emergency contacts to act appropriately in case of emergency several critical elements should be taken into consideration:
SYSTEM ATTRIBUTES:
- One-touch button action to send critical information to 911.
- Data points to include in the text: medical condition, history, contact information, geo-location and medications taken.
- Include option to dial 911 from the Lock Screen with a pre-determined voice recording of the same information should the user be impaired by his/her condition. experiencing anaphylactic shock.
Rescufy team has developed the following philosophy for User Experience and User Interface design:
“The design for Rescufy should express the reliability, responsiveness, and reassurance that are central to the mission of this product. This identity emphasizes the simplicity and accessibility required by a product that is responsible for the well-being of its users. The visual language is influenced by the clean yet authoritative nature of medical institutions and ambulances.”
RESULTS:
Kanda software has worked with Rescufy team to create a UX/UI and develop an iOS mobile application.
Kanda development team has applied an extensive experience in mobile and custom UI design and software development for digital healthcare companies and created a user-friendly, extremely rapid to use, easy to navigate and fully functional application.
The implementation of the geo-location, text-to-speech features as well as lock screen emergency call button allows to automatically collect necessary information and simplifies access to the application in case of anaphylactic shock. After setting up the profile and customizing text messages, the user is able to dial and text 911 or emergency contacts with one touch of a button.
As the app matures many more features such as Cloud-based data sharing and EMR integration will make it even more useful and ubiquitous on the mobile devices of people who suffer from conditions that might incapacitate them on short notice.
Competing with over 200 mobile application ideas, Rescufy has won UPENN’s AppitUP 2014 Challenge and secured $15000 in seed funding.
