Telemedicine support in ambulances for children with emergencies
Official title: Feasibility and Efficacy of Ambulance-Based mhealth for Pediatric Emergencies (FEAMER) Trial
Funded at Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ · NIH-11136523 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses real-time telemedicine in ambulances to help EMTs and emergency doctors care for children with acute illnesses during transport.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | July 10, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $128,117 |
| NIH project number | 5R33HD103049-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11136523 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children aged 0–11 years with acute emergency illnesses who are transported by a participating ambulance to the partner pediatric emergency department.
✕Less likely to help
Children who are not transported by the trial ambulances, have non-urgent conditions that do not require ambulance transport, or are treated outside the participating region are unlikely to benefit directly from this trial.
What this research studies
If your child needs ambulance transport for an emergency, participating ambulances will link EMTs with telemedicine physicians during the ride. The trial randomly assigns 30 ambulances to carry the telemedicine setup and 30 ambulances to provide usual care, and compares children's Pediatric Early Warning Score (PEWS) from the scene to ED triage. Secondary measures include the percent of completed telemedicine calls, EMT and physician satisfaction, and clinical outcomes at the end of the ED visit. The project also builds local m-health research capacity with existing partners using the same telemedicine setup tested in the prior feasibility phase.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce deterioration during transport and improve emergency outcomes for children by giving EMTs real-time specialist guidance.
How similar studies have gone: An earlier R21 phase of this project demonstrated feasibility, and prehospital telemedicine studies in adults have shown promising but mixed results, so the pediatric ambulance application remains relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Razzak, Junaid Abdul — Weill Medical Coll of Cornell Univ
- Study coordinator: Razzak, Junaid Abdul
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.