AI will alert emergency services of car crash victims’ injuries within seven seconds

Emergency services could soon receive a report on potential injuries within seven seconds of a traffic accident taking place.

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is working on technology that uses data from the car to understand the severity and type of crash that has occurred, and the likely injuries faced by the occupants of the vehicles.

The innovation hopes to give the emergency services more information that will help inform their response to an incident during ‘golden time’, which is the period following a traumatic injury where prompt medical and surgical treatment can drastically increase the likelihood a patient can be saved.

Hyundai has partnered with Israeli start-up MDGo, which specialises in medical artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It uses complex algorithms to interpret crash data from the car and send emergency services detailed analysis of potential injuries.

The predictions are fed by analysis of the injuries caused by past crashes. The system is always ‘learning’, as medical professionals can input real data of patient injuries, which the system compares to its predictions to refine its analysis in the future.

Hyundai also says the data can be used to further optimise its crash structures as it can better understand the injuries caused by certain types of crashes.

Youngcho Chi, president and chief innovation officer at Hyundai Motor Group, said: “MDGo possesses exceptional AI analysis technology optimised for driver safety.

“Through this technology, we expect a significant improvement in the emergency medical services of vehicles in the short-term while our long-term goal is to provide innovations in passenger experience of vehicle safety, utilising new technology that enables real-time physical monitoring.”

Itay Bengad, chief executive officer at MDGo, said: “We are excited to partner with one of the world’s leading car manufacturers to bridge the gap between vehicle and medical. Hyundai shares our vision to provide life-saving services by utilising the constantly growing stream of vehicle data to improve passenger safety.”

Big data and artificial intelligence are becoming more common in the automotive industry. American electric car manufacturer Tesla uses data from customer vehicles to optimise its semi-autonomous cruise control functions.

It reads the amount of steering used and whether drivers had to intervene to understand the severity of a turn on a section of road, so that it is smoother the next time a driver travels through.

Advertisement