Developing the tools and increasing the
capabilities for this country to respond to terrorist incidents has
become one of the highest priorities not only for the U.S. military,
but also for federal, state and local agencies, as well as private
industry. Incidents involving chemical,
biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction,
are serious threats requiring thorough assessments, planning and
training. Technical support is key to the preparedness. Putting the
most advanced tools in the hands of emergency first responders is an
absolute necessity.
The HazCat project is designed for first
responders to use in identifying possible weapons of mass
destruction or unknown chemical/biological agents. The system
consists of a tablet PC application that is used in the field by the
hot zone team and incident command software that is used by the
agency responsible for responding to the incident. The tablet PC
application communicates in real time with the incident command
server to send all test results, captured images and recommendations
to the server. The incident command software connects to the
incident server and allows for real-time monitoring of incoming data
from multiple hot zone teams. The incident command software acts as
a decision support point for evaluating data coming from the field
and routing captured microscope images to various labs and agencies.
The client application leads the hot zone teams
through conducting a series of tests in order to determine what the
unknown agent is. These tests were designed by chemical and
biological weapons experts to allow the team to quickly determine
what the unknown agent is. The tablet application had three main
design goals:
1)
Interface must be simple as users would be in restricted
environment, (i.e. level 3 bunny suits for chemical and biological
containment).
2)
Interface must be high contrast as the suits restrict viewing angle
and width
3)
Interface must be touch/stylus as use of keyboard in bunny suit is
not an option
4) Tablet
application provides intelligent screen navigation based on results
of previous test to get fastest path to substance determination,
(expert system)
5) Tablet
must communicate in real time with incident server so that status of
tests and determinations can be tracked with a minimum of
voice/radio communications
6) Messages
must be encrypted so that news media or other observers can not see
real time data transmissions
7) Tablet
must be able to acquire images from microscope if biological agent
is suspected so that images can be sent to labs for analysis without
having to leave the hot zone.
The incident command software is designed as a
monitoring point for coordination of teams and their test results.
The incident commander(s) may be on site or located anywhere in the
world. The incident command software had these main design goals:
1) Incident
command software must be able to receive images and test data in
real time
2) The
command software must easily show the operator where the field
agents are in the testing sequence and where they have left to go to
make a determination
3) The
command software must allow for forwarding of test data to various
agencies for determinations and recommendations
4) The
command software must be able to monitor many teams simultaneously
in real time and allow for easily identifying the team and their
results
Client Server Development was hired by
HazTech Systems, Inc.,
to build the client and server applications for the HazCat product.
A previous contractor was unable to deliver a working solution,
which put HazTech and CSD under a tight deadline for field
deployment of the application. Because the previous contractors
produced code that was not suited to a real-time mission-critical
environment, CSD choose to start the development from scratch.
CSD choose the
following technologies for implementation:
HazCat Client
- Microsoft Windows XP Tablet Edition, (allows
users to write test results and navigate via touch screen)
- Microsoft MSMQ messaging technology, (allows
for encrypted peer to peer messaging)
- Microsoft .Net Platform, (allows for easy
creation of user interfaces and web services which are the
backbone of this application)
- Microsoft DirectX 9 SDK, (allows for
integration of the DirectShow API for capturing real time video
from the microscope and capturing audio from the tablet PC)
HazCat Incident Command
- Microsoft Windows XP Professional
- Microsoft MSMQ messaging technology, (again
for acceptance of real time data in encrypted form from the client
application(s))
- Microsoft .Net Platform, (allows for easy
creation of sophisticated user interfaces for viewing images and
test data obtained from the client software)
Client Server Development choose to use the
Visual Studio Development environment for developing this
application and the application is primarily coded in VB.Net using
some components in C# which talk to the DirectShow API’s. CSD was
able to deliver the complete application in less than three weeks of
development time. The application has since been successfully field
trialed and is currently in place at several agencies in the United
States.
When an incident occurs, one or more hot zone
teams are dispatched to tests the substances found. The teams take a
HazCat tablet and a box full of tests and equipment to the site. On
entering the site, the teams start the client application and see
the following screen:
Once the incident is identified, the press the
stylus on the button to do a test. The following screen shot shows a
battery of test results that the technician should perform. Based on
the results, the system will create another screen asking for more
tests until a determination is made.
As the technicians enter results into the
client software, data is streamed via MSMQ to the HazCat server
which records the results and updates the monitoring applications
screens. Here is an example of watching an incident in progress:
Note that the system highlights the current
client screen and shows as green all tests sets that have been
completed with their results. The commander can click on the
thumbnail of an image to see a detailed view of any microscope
captures, or choose to send the images to a laboratory or agency for
further analysis.
This system has the following benefits to the
agencies using it:
1)
Eliminate need for constant communications from hot zone teams. The
teams are able to concentrate on their work, not calling command to
inform them of current progress.
2)
Automation of the process of determining an unknown agent. By
allowing the software to evaluate results and direct the
investigation, we have harnessed the knowledge of an expert in
determining unknown substances. The hot-zone team need only follow
the recommendations of the software for what tests to perform; the
software uses the test results to either determine the agent or
request further tests until a determination can be made. This
eliminates the need for field experts in testing and test evaluation
and hastens the determination process.
3) Allow
for easy communication of results with outside agencies for
evaluation. By incorporating emailing or results and images,
responding agencies can call in the expertise of other agencies with
more experience in evaluating slides and results.
4) Allowing
for easy command of multiple teams. Because the command software can
handle an unlimited number of concurrent incidents, incident
commanders can easily know exactly where each team is in determining
what the unknown agent is.
CSD is committed to developing high quality
mission critical software for its clients. Should you require an
application that incorporates any of the technology that you have
just read about, please feel free to call us! |
