Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

Using Social Media to Help Survive Hurricanes, Natural Disasters

September 14, 2018 By Tierney King

Envision being trapped underneath the wreckage of a hurricane with no phone lines. What if social media could save your life by giving you an online platform with a more accurate and detailed route of the hurricane?

Purdue University researchers are now testing technology to help first responders find victims of natural and man-made disasters. An online platform called the Social Media Analytics and Reporting Toolkit (SMART) could help first responders monitor areas where hurricanes are more likely to hit, and allow them to monitor social media posts to find people in need of aid.  

“SMART distills the ocean of social media data down to relevant and usable information in real time,” said David Ebert, director of Purdue’s Visual Analytics for Command, Control and Interoperability Environments and the Silicon Valley Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “What an incredible opportunity to use our engineering talents at Purdue to make a life-saving impact.”

The system has not yet been released publicly, but official first-responder organizations can request an account to use SMART during Hurricane Florence by contacting Ebert at ebertd@ecn.purdue.edu.

First Responders can also use the platform to select key words such as “flooding” or “medical emergencies,” which are then highlighted on a map as they are talked about on social media in a specific geographic area.

“Imagine being trapped after a hurricane makes landfall and having social media as the only form of communication to reach out for help,” Ebert said. “SMART allows first responders to pick up those digital cries for help and take action.”

The technology also allows users to set up customizable email alerts for relevant key words within a specific time frame. Officials in California used SMART to find victims from this year’s wildfires.

SMART can also be used during potential attacks during major public events such as analyzing school threats or monitoring traffic.

“There is really no learning curve because the interface is visual and natural,” Ebert said.

Related Articles Read More >

DermaSensor skin cancer MedTech Innovator DeviceTalks Boston
DermaSensor wins MedTech Innovator Mid-Stage Companies Pitch Event
Product packaging for the Lucira combination COVID-19 and flu test
Lucira Health asks FDA for EUA on molecular at-home COVID/flu test
gBETA Medtech accelerator picks its next startups
Hologic
Hologic handily beats the Street with Q2 results

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 20, 2022
DeviceTalks Boston Post-Game – Editors’ Top Moments, Insulet’s Eric Benjamin on future of Omnipod 5
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech