January 28th, 2009

CDC issues revised field trauma triage recommendations

Guidelines published in the January 23rd, 2009 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are the first ever trauma recommendations released. Designed to assure that severely injured patients are taken to trauma centers capable of handling their injuries, the revised guidelines also offer guidance on new technologies such as vehicle crash notification systems.

Copies of the report, additional information, and related information including a users guide, posters, and pocket cards of the decision scheme are available on the CDC Web site at: www.cdc.gov/FieldTriage.

New car tech: Not just crash protection, but prevention

A car that can brake itself to avoid a fender-bender during the morning commute might seem far into the future. Except it goes on sale in March.That's when City Safety, a low-speed collision-avoidance technology becomes available on the new 2010 Volvo XC60, a crossover utility. City Safety is just one of several new technologies designed to prevent car crashes and save lives. Auto sales are at a nearly two-decade low, but the pace of safety innovations continues unabated. Whereas air bags, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control were the standard for a safe car until very recently, automakers continue to raise the stakes. Radar, lasers and cameras work with computers and sophisticated software to do tasks unheard of just a few years ago. They tell you if you're falling asleep at the wheel, or if a car is in your blind spot. If you drift from your lane, they warn you, and in some instances, nudge you back into your lane. And modern cruise control doesn't just keep a steady speed, but can help your car keep a steady distance with the car in front of you."There's no question the vehicle itself has played a role in the decline of fatalities," said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "But we're pretty much convinced there aren't that many safety benefits to be gained based on the crash-worthiness of passenger vehicles. The next frontier would be to help the driver avoid the crash in the first place."

"Obviously a major malfunction" Those words were spoken twenty-three years ago today by Mission Control right after the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral before they knew the full extent of the disaster. I don't know why I remember those words, but I do to this day. On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded and disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean killing seven crew members. More on the Challenger disaster here.