Two teams of Johns Hopkins University computer science students are developing digital platforms to help first responders in life-or-death situations.
The projects—RescueReady and TriageNow—came out of the Whiting School of Engineering's two-semester Computer Science Innovation and Entrepreneurship course, designed to teach juniors and seniors how to generate ideas and prepare a business plan for new ventures. Both teams identified critical gaps in emergency medical services and built platforms aimed at saving lives by improving training and response efficiency.
The course is taught by Anton Dahbura, an associate research scientist in the Department of Computer Science, and Larry Aronhime, a teaching professor in the Whiting School's Center for Leadership Education. In late April, the students presented their projects at the Whiting School's annual Design Day, as well as to an external panel comprising practitioners, industry representatives, and venture capitalists.
RescueReady
Through interviews with local emergency medical services leadership and EMT advisers, computer science students Subhasri Vijay and Jamie Stelnik, Engr '25, A&S '25, discovered that EMTs learn vital situational awareness skills on the job—often through trial and error, which can lead to delayed decision-making, inefficient resource allocation, and increased risk for both patients and first responders. To help, the students developed RescueReady, an AI-driven training platform for practicing emergency response in high-stakes conditions reflecting real-world challenges.
Image caption: RescueReady co-founders Subhasri Vijay and Jamie Stelnik with Larry Aronhime
Image credit: Johns Hopkins University
Vijay and Stelnik sought to develop a platform that gives first responders the ability to practice their situational awareness in an infinite number of virtual emergency scenarios. The pair created an AI-driven scenario generator capable of simulating any emergency, fully customizable to different EMS roles and difficulty levels. The platform also provides instant feedback to help improve real-time decision-making skills and boasts features like station-based competitions and performance tracking to keep engagement high while reinforcing critical thinking under pressure.
Currently, the team is working with local EMS agencies to test the system and gather feedback. The students' goal is to integrate RescueReady into existing EMS systems in Maryland and beyond—an effort helped by the $1,000 Pava Center for Entrepreneurship Award they earned at the 25th annual HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge, where RescueReady also placed third in the competition's General Ventures track.
The team envisions expanding its platform to other industries that could benefit from situational awareness training.
TriageNow
TriageNow is a real-time, user-friendly patient tracking platform that supports efficient note-taking and seamless information transfer during mass casualty incidents. It was developed by senior computer science majors Maria-Noelia Herne and Meghana Karthic, junior computer science major Kamila Wong, and senior molecular and cellular biology major Micaela Rodriguez Steube, who is also a volunteer EMT.
Image caption: The TriageNow team: Kamila Wong, Meghana Karthic, Maria-Noelia Herne, and Micaela Rodriguez Steub
Image credit: Johns Hopkins University
The team looked at how paper notetaking and communicating via handheld radios can lead to information loss and delays in lifesaving care based on Steube's experiences and conversations with Matthew Levy, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the medical director of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, and the regional medical director for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems.
TriageNow offers a hybrid solution using color-coded wristbands with scannable barcodes to create a digital profile for each patient. A guided triage algorithm for clinical decision-making and a voice-to-text feature to document patient care details help keep caregivers' hands free to deliver critical care. A centralized dashboard feeds patient information to incident commanders who can see at a glance the number of patients, the severity of their conditions, and each patient's stage of care, allowing for more informed decisions about resource allocation.
To test their system, the students conducted a drill with the Hopkins Emergency Response Organization, and next the group will pilot TriageNow with the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The team aspires to scale the system nationally across 23,000 EMS agencies.
Posted in Science+Technology, Student Life
