Disaster Victim ID System
An RFID tag used to record information and identify victims of disasters, removing the need for paper-based recording and preventing data loss due to environmental degradation.
In disaster situations, forensic pathologists traditionally examine each body or body part and record findings on paper. This results in the loss of significant amounts of data through environmental degradation and is highly inefficient. Barcode systems are likewise insufficient as they are again vulnerable to the elements and cannot store information. Information access is limited to those with access to the physical tag or paper based information.
The Disater Victim ID System (DVIS) was developed in response to these limitations, and provides a solution that is resistant to environmental degradation, can store several megabytes of data (scene photos, x-ray images, test results, etc) and does not require line of sight to be read. This allows authenticated people access to the information without being present at the data site, through phone or wireless networks. Both pathologists and forensic staff will benefit from improved access to data and the ability to add and modify the notes stored on the tag wirelessly. Emergency services worldwide would benefit from improved data access and integrity.
This system was developed by the School of Computer & Information Science at ECU. A prototype is currently in development.