Study On Simulation Of Medical Evacuation Based On GIS And Allocation Of Evacuation Tools

Rational allocation of wartime evacuation tools, mainly including first-aid vehicle, ambulance and Added Equipment for Transporting the Wounded or Sick (AETWS), has been a difficult problem in the field of medical equipment and medical service. This paper intends to develop the Simulation System of Medical Evacuation (SSME) based on the integration of GIS technology, queuing theory, simulation method and medical evacuation theory, to construct an application platform for the research of optimization of evacuation tools allocation. The main works are summarized as follows:1. Study on Patient Class and Patient Class DatabaseWith reference to the new edition Rules of War Wound Cure and the analysis of the classificatory characteristics of PLA in patient class, a new taxonomy of patient class is put forward in accordance with a comprehensive survey of location of injury, severity and type of war injury. SSME is supplied with data support by the establishment of Patient Class Database which is distinct from others in taking the generation probability of the wounded, life-span and cure measures into account on the basis of drawing on the US experience in both patient class taxonomy and the corresponding data structure2. The Simulation Modeling of Medical EvacuationThe illustration of the traditional allocation methods demonstrates that it is essential to introduce the simulation method to satisfy the high-accuracy demand for evacuation tools allocation. Based on the work flow of medical evacuation, the conceptual model is built to describe a series of movement processes from the generation of the wounded to medical evacuation. The established conceptual model, queuing theory and computer simulation method work together to set up the simulation model of medical evacuation which can fulfil the functions as follows: decomposing the process of medical evacuation into such links as generation, operation and evacuation of the wounded; simulating the work flow of medical evacuation; above all laying the foundation for the development of medical evacuation system.3. Study on Visualization of Medical EvacuationThis paper analyzes the visualization requirement of medical evacuation and clarifies the functions awaiting realization. The application of GIS technology is conductive to the accomplishment of the following functions: the construction of spatial database of medical evacuation; the display and query of geo-spatial information; the development of the optimal path module of evacuation on the basis of introducing the optimal path searching algorithm in network. All of the functions contribute to the preliminary realization of medical evacuation visualization.4. The Development of Simulation System of Medical EvacuationThe established conceptual model and simulation model of medical evacuation lay a good foundation for the development of the simulation system of medical evacuation(SSME). The structure and function of the SSME are illuminated in this paper. The focal points are highlighted as follows: the formation of the entities of medical faculty and evacuation tools in virtue of the Object-Oriented technology; the research on the establishment of event table and the event handler in the process of system development.5. Study on the Sensibility of Allocation of Evacuation ToolsThe simulation result of allocation of evacuation tools within division medical aid station in the tactical zone indicates if the first-aid vehicle, ambulance, and the Added Equipment for Transporting the Wounded are 3, 4 and 6 in number respectively, the quantity can meet the demand of evacuation time effect. After the sensibility analysis of the factors affecting allocation of evacuation tools, the simulation experiment shows that the highest influence on the allocation of evacuation tools is closely related to such factors as the throughput of the wounded in day and night, the speed and volume of evacuation tools, and the evacuation distance other than that of medical service organizing into groups. In view of the future demand, it is necessary to simulate the case that helicopters are employed in regiment aid station. The simulation result makes it clear that helicopters can greatly improve the evacuation efficiency.