EBACE Show News - May 22, 2008 - (Page 14)

EBACE 2008 FirstCall—European Business Jet Telemedicine UK based-business jet operator Gama Aviation was the first to sign up with advanced medicine advisors TheFirstCall (TFC) offering “direct to doctor” air/ground telemedicine services. The deal covers its entire fleet both in the UK and internationally. TFC CEO Roderick Macdonald says Swiss operator G5 Executive also signed up in April, and two more operators from outside the UK are currently in negotiation. TFC was set up five years ago and is based at the UK’s International Centre for Emergency Medicine at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Aberdeen is Europe’s largest singlesite teaching and research hospital complex, with over 70 years of telemedicine expertise. Unlike some 24/7 telemedicine companies, TFC’s incoming flight call is connected ‘directly to doctor’, which it claims is unique, as other companies filter the first contact through a qualified nurse. All TFC’s medical advice is delivered live to the medical incident— by telephone, satphone video-conferencing or email—from senior the James Bond movies, which means we come up with original ideas, and advise the scriptwriters and director on the latest and future telemedicine technologies and advances in medicine,” says Macdonald. TFC came up with the idea for the very dramatic and tense telemedicine scene in Casino Royale, in which the new James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, is saved by telemedicine technology via his mobile phone and a selfinjected diagnostic needle. The realism of the scene and the fact that much of the technology shown is already available, was doubtless the reason TFC has been retained for the next Bond creation, Quantum of Solace, which is due to premier in the fall. Macdonald says that legislation dictates all aircraft carry certain medical equipment. “From the evidence and incidents that we’ve seen over the last five years we can marry up the equipment required, but it has to be matched to the skill levels of the cabin crew first-aider on board. There is no point in giving them something they can’t use. We log all supplies to each aircraft under our care so that when an emergency call comes through we know exactly what they’ve got to work with.” There is a perception, notes Macdonald, that inflight emergencies are amplified by the cabin environment and an ageing passenger population, but his company’s research, based on actual in-flight medical emergencies, shows otherwise. It revealed that 21-30-year-olds were most prone, with 41-50s in second place, 31-40s next, and 51-60s and 61-70s in fourth and fifth places respectively. The numbers can be broken down further into male and female incidents, with the latter coming off slightly worse in some categories. There was even a case of two passengers who had managed to get false-nail adhesive into their eyes, but the matter was resolved inflight by the time telemedicine contact had been made. Roderick Macdonald is here this year at EBACE. —Mike Vines TFC CEO Roderick Macdonald. doctors experienced in the latest emergency medicine techniques. TFC advises companies on what medical kit should be carried, which differs from aircraft to aircraft and sometimes from flight to flight. TFC has been supplying ongoing inflight care and medical consultation services to scheduled airlines and private yachts since start-up, but its most high-viz client is Eon Productions, makers of the James Bond movies. “We are the advanced medicine advisors to logo. “This logo brought us luck in last year’s triumphant season, just as Piero Ferrari predicted it would when he asked me to represent his aeronautical industry,” Kimi Raikkonen said recently. Felipe Massa declared: “Flying with the P180 Avanti II, I was able to appreciate its extraordinary Felipe Massa (left) and F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen. Piaggio’s Winning Formula Some place their luck in rabbit’s feet, but after five races it appears that the best good luck charm in Formula One motor racing is a Piaggio turboprop-twin. World champion Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa currently are ranked 14 at Numbers 1 and 2, respectively, in the 2008 drivers’ championship—and both choose the P180 Avanti II for their personal air transport needs. Both Maranello Team drivers’ suits again feature the Piaggio Aero features and am truly proud to continue representing it. Speed and high technology have always been my true passion: Flight and the P180 Avanti II are an extraordinary example of this.” Even with its attributes, the choice of aircraft comes as no surprise, for Piero Ferrari is both vice chairman of Ferrari and chairman of Piaggio Aero. The Piaggio Aero sponsorship of the Ferrari drivers flanks that of Mubadala Development, the strategic investments company of the Abu Dhabi government, a shareholder of Ferrari (5%) and Piaggio Aero Industries (35%). Piaggio Aero is at Booth 1305, where it is promoting the new Avanti interior. The company delivered a record 21 aircraft last year and is continuing a steady production ramp-up, reinvigorated by its connections with Ferrari. —Paul Jackson May 22, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EBACE Show News - May 22, 2008

EBAA Bestows Awards Honeywell APUs Gain DayJet Not Hurting Eclipse Airbus Cabins in China Lisa Flies Its Akoya Single P&WC Service Boosts AMAC Aerospace Debuts FirstCall Telemedicine First Lineage to Prestige The TBM 850 is All New A Far Larger DC Aviation Midcoast for Falcon Work Tailwind Offers CRJ200 Jet Aviation for Utah

EBACE Show News - May 22, 2008

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