The software, called Pathfinder, works through mobile phones, and incorporates Bluetooth, GPS and mobile electronic forms. Pathfinder is powered by SmartRESPONDER technology which was developed by St. Louis-based Agilis Systems

Thanks to Bluetooth technology, the software works even when cellular and internet infrastructure is unavailable as is often the case in disasters of this type, drawing the attention of national civilian and military leaders.

Lack of cellular service does not impact the ability to capture and store valuable field information on the mobile phone and then download it to the main database via Bluetooth when back at command headquarters.

Pathfinder allows volunteers and emergency workers to provide same day information to an emergency operations center, such as:

+ Rapid damage assessments.

+ Information on homes visited, including location and occupant status.

+ Details on residents with urgent healthcare needs -- such as seniors and diabetics -- that require a follow-up visit for delivery of medicines and services.

With Pathfinder, the incident commander can outline where responders should go and then send a detailed map directly to the responders' phones.

From their volunteer base at Bridge City High School in Bridge City, Texas, Scott Lewis's team of more than 200 volunteers has visited nearly 6,000 houses and completed more than 4,300 rapid assessments. As a result of those efforts, 200 follow-up needs have been identified, including three people with emphysema who had been without oxygen for three days and received expedited oxygen tanks after the team's visit.

"The technology has worked beautifully and is literally helping save lives," says Lewis, founder of The Eagles Wings Foundation, a non-profit relief organization that is the first to use Pathfinder.

"In previous disaster relief efforts, workers had to take notes on paper forms, and manually enter the information into a database. Relief efforts were much slower, and there was mass duplication of effort."

Lewis is also President of Disaster Solutions, LLC. He is a leading expert in mass care disaster relief planning and execution. Since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Lewis has been working with Agilis Systems to develop Pathfinder.

"Pathfinder creates a central command and control operation for a multi-jurisdictional disaster response," says Agilis Systems' CEO Dan Huber. "The technology organizes all jurisdictions, monitors the GPS location of first responders via their mobile phones, and provides data on critical care situations."

Agilis Systems was recently acknowledged with the 2008 Frost and Sullivan Product Innovation Award for the SmartRESPONDER technology that powers Pathfinder.

In disaster situations, first responders and incident commanders are typically looking for worst-case scenarios first. In major disasters there may be no street signs, no normal landmarks, and a lack of infrastructure such as electricity, transportation and cell phone service.

This typically leads to a tremendous amount of mission overlap, particularly with many volunteers and responders who may not be familiar with the area.

Lewis says one of the most important long-term benefits of Pathfinder is the ability to document relief efforts for agencies such as local emergency managers and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).

"Documentation is enormously important, and it means a lot in terms of the ability to improve future efforts," he says. "It also helps relief organizations to respond more quickly and efficiently, as well as to be accountable and justify reimbursements from FEMA for their efforts."

Prior to Hurricane Ike, Pathfinder technology has provided unprecedented results in full-scale field exercises conducted in Florida. A team of 101 first-time volunteers -- ages 13-85 -- had never seen the technology prior to the field exercise. T

he team went from door to door, and was able to enter information for approximately 1,000 people per hour. Later field tests with 135 volunteers resulted in 1,200 and 1,700 homes visited per hour. By comparison, during Hurricane Charley in 2004, government teams were able to conduct 104 interviews in a five-day period.

Related Links
The Eagles Wings Foundation
GPS Applications, Technology and Suppliers

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