'Ambulance of the future' unveiled at Dubai's Arab Health Expo

The Ford Transit vehicle line has been fitted with advanced medical care systems by DCAS.

The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS) has unveiled the 'ambulance of the future', a Ford Transit vehicle with an advanced emergency unit.

The vehicle was showcased at the Arab Health Exhibition and Congress in Dubai.

The ambulance, developed by DCAS as a project under the Dubai 10X initiative, was customised by American Emergency Vehicles (AEV) in the US.

DCAS's vehicle is fitted with the patient care and safety equipment by Ferno-Washington, in addition to telematics systems by Ferno-Acetech.

Ferno and AEV used a Ford Transit base vehicle to merge the latest automotive, telecommunications, and medical technology as an integrated package.

The interior is fitted with a wall-mounted track system with quick release brackets for easy access to critical equipment

A vehicle informatics module takes GPS information and combines it with vehicle data from the Transit’s on board diagnostics port, and feeds that information to three touchscreens, one in the cabin and two in the rear of the ambulance.

All of that information is fed to a cloud-based system where DCAS fleet managers are able to monitor via a secure web-interface.

Commenting on the vehicle, Khalifa Hassan Al Darai, chief executive officer of DCAS, said: "This ambulance is far more advanced than all of the previous ambulances we have had.

"By 2020, we expect it will be even more groundbreaking. The medical equipment has evolved so much in this vehicle; the critical appliances needed can now be controlled easily and moved from right to left.

"Also, the internal and external lighting can be controlled with a touch of a button. We looked at the best and most innovative equipment in the world and brought it to Dubai to help paramedics save lives."

The Dubai 10X initiative was launched by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to set the Government of Dubai on a mission to be 10 years ahead of all other cities by affecting radical changes through experimental, out-of-the-box future oriented exponential thinking.