Mokpo National University Selected as Joint Research Institution for Disaster Safety Problem-Solving Support Project

Research on Augmented Reality-Based Remote Consultation for Emergency Patients in Island Area Disasters and Accidents

Mokpo National University College of Engineering Campus View (Photo by Mokpo National University)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Mokpo National University (President Park Min-seo) announced on the 16th that it was finally selected as a joint research institute for the ‘2020 Regional Customized Disaster Safety Problem-Solving Support Project’ recently implemented by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The ‘Regional Customized Disaster Safety Problem-Solving Support Project’ is a project that supports the development and demonstration of disaster safety technologies reflecting the characteristics and requirements of each region, as disaster safety risk factors and urgency differ by region.

In this project, Mokpo National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation will serve as a joint research institute in cooperation with Mokpo City Medical Center, the lead research institute, and will carry out the selected project titled ‘Research on Augmented Reality-Based Remote Collaboration for Emergency Patients in Island Areas.’

The project period is about three years, from July this year to December 2022, and the national project budget allocated to Mokpo National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation is 480 million KRW out of the total project cost of 2 billion KRW.

Through this project, Mokpo National University will conduct research to develop and demonstrate a system for remote diagnosis and remote collaboration for emergency patients occurring in the island areas of Sinan-gun, together with Sinan-gun Health Center and Mokpo City Medical Center.

In particular, when emergency patients occur due to disasters and safety accidents, a real-time emergency treatment system will be developed in which public health doctors at Sinan-gun Health Center and Coast Guard emergency rescuers exchange video, audio, drawings, and sensor data with remote specialists through ‘AR (Augmented Reality) Glasses,’ contributing to saving the lives of emergency patients.

Furthermore, if remote collaboration technology is applied to other fields, it is expected to contribute to regional economic revitalization by generating economic ripple effects in various sectors such as manufacturing, education, and service industries, as well as job creation effects through service and content development.

Professor Choi Jong-myeong of the Department of Computer Engineering, the project leader of the joint research institute, said, “Using an augmented reality-based remote collaboration system in medically vulnerable areas is expected to significantly alleviate emergency medical issues in island areas and medical service imbalances between regions, thereby improving the quality of life for local residents.” He added, “Since it has great potential for use not only domestically but also in overseas markets, we will strive to explore the possibility of advancing into the overseas emergency medical field through high-quality research outcomes.”

Meanwhile, in Jeollanam-do, when the avoidable mortality rate per 100,000 people (the mortality rate that could be avoided if early screening or timely treatment were received, considering current medical knowledge or technology) is converted to city and county units, Sinan-gun, a representative island area, has a rate of 187, which is 2.2 times higher than Yongin City’s 85.

This research is expected to greatly contribute to alleviating the regional deprivation index (an indicator created to represent the socioeconomic level of a region by quantifying the degree of deprivation or deficiency in the area) through improving the poor regional medical environment by lowering the avoidable mortality rate of emergency patients.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.