Algorithm improves motor vehicle crash victim triage

Editor's Note

An algorithm that uses vehicle telemetry measurements can improve the guidance of motor vehicle victims to the most appropriate place for care, this study finds.

The algorithm is a computer-based program that collects information, such as occupants’ use of seatbelts, airbag deployment, vehicle speed, and point of impact. Hospital staff and first responders can use this information to determine the location and severity of injuries and whether the patient needs to be cared for at a Level I or Level II trauma center or go somewhere else like a regional hospital.

The researchers estimate that nationwide implementation of the algorithm would correct triage decisions for 44% of those who are undertriaged and 38% of those who are overtriaged. This would translate into more appropriate care for more than 2,700 seriously injured crash victims annually and avoid sending more than 162,000 people who don’t need trauma-level care to trauma centers.