STARS air ambulance and SkyTrac Systems have completed an in-flight medical data transfer trial on board STARS' new five-blade Airbus H145-D3 aircraft.

SkyTrac says the medical data transfer capability is the first of its kind to enable air medical operators to transmit real-time patient medical data such as O2 and CO2 saturation, pulse rate and blood pressure data directly to remote transport physicians and receiving centres from any point on the globe through its connectivity solution. This mix of satellite, cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity is made possible by SkyTrac's ISAT-200A and DAL-200 avionics, which offers operators dynamic data routing through various channels for real-time medical data acquired from onboard medical devices. The capability should enable transport physicians to view patient data remotely through secure servers in real-time.

Prior to STARS' in-flight trial, SkyTrac conducted on-ground testing with STAT MedEvac, a Pennsylvanian air medical transport provider, in February 2020 where engineers configured a Zoll X Series monitor/defibrillator to transmit encrypted medical data successfully.

SkyTrac says the expandable capability will enable healthcare practitioners to access data such as 12-lead reports before patients arrive at the receiving hospital.

The Iridium-based ISAT-200A satellite communications terminal features data acquisition capabilities and services such as voice and text communications, aircraft tracking and satellite push-to-talk through a low earth orbit satellite network for low-latency narrowband bandwidth, which SkyTrac says is immune to natural disasters and catastrophic events.

“STARS is very excited to see this capability successfully trialed on our aircraft,” says Cindy Seidl, chief clinical officer, STARS air ambulance. “The ability for our remote transport physicians to view real-time data enables us to be even more reactive when transporting patients to receiving centres.”

“SkyTrac has worked closely with STARS and STAT MedEvac over the years to create a truly innovative capability that has far-reaching impact within the emergency medical service sector,” says Mandi Skinner, regional business manager, SkyTrac.