The illustrative embodiments generally relate to a vehicle computing system reacting to detected or input medical conditions.
Heart attacks, seizures, even a lapse into unconsciousness due to, for example, dehydration or choking, can occur at unexpected moments. In fact, these events are typified by such unplanned incidences, with typically little to no forewarning. In addition to these extreme examples, a variety of medical emergencies or conditions can arise at any time.
If a person suffering from a condition that would benefit from, if not require, medical assistance, becomes symptomatic in the presence of another party capable of providing, or at least contacting medical help, undesired eventualities can often be avoided. Severe allergy attacks can be met with antihistamines or steroid shots. A lapse into unconsciousness can be addressed with resuscitation, or prevented entirely with swift assistance. Heart attacks can be quickly responded to by EMS, and seizure victims can be helped to prevent injury to themselves until the seizure passes.
If these conditions arise while a person is alone, however, the consequences may be much more dire. Permanent injury or even death may result. Additionally, if these conditions arise while driving a motor vehicle, especially if the driver is alone, serious injury may result from an accident caused by the onset of the condition, even if the condition itself would not have resulted in injury.
Some emergency conditions come upon a victim so suddenly that no preventative measure can be taken. Many emergency conditions, however, can be projected as a possible consequence of a known medical condition. Further, especially when the medical condition is known, there are often a few minutes or more of symptoms leading up to the onset of an emergency event.
If the window in which symptoms occurs is small, the sufferer may have only a brief period of time in which to react. This may result in a call to 911, a call to a trusted friend or relative, or a call to a doctor. With the exception of 911, which is hopefully always available, any other party contacted my not be available, or may not be able to help. With only potentially minutes to respond to a potentially fatal condition, a patient cannot afford to place unanswered call after unanswered call.
Further, even if the patient is successful in reaching a 911 operator, an ambulance or other EMS may not be in an ideal position to respond. Or, the call to 911 may not have been needed, and thus a valuable and finite medical resource is being improperly utilized. Unfortunately, a person suffering from an apparent emergency condition is not always in a position to make a determination as to whether or not a call to 911 is needed. Even though it is advisable to err on the side of caution in such an instance, many people may over-react to non-threatening conditions.
It may also actually be faster for a person to report to a hospital or care-provider themselves, especially if they are already in a vehicle, than to wait for an ambulance, assuming that the safe transportation services of an ambulance driver are not required. Of course, if the person does not know that the closest hospital/pharmacy/care provider is only a few miles away, that person is likely to opt to wait for EMS to arrive, even if the EMS may take a much longer time to arrive than would the drive to the care provider. This consideration may be particularly relevant in the case that a second party is present in a vehicle and is capable of transporting the patient without an imminent risk of the driver becoming unconscious or otherwise incapable of operating the vehicle.