Space based Support of Dangerous goods transport in the medical sector

The DG-Trac project addressed the tracking and tracing of dangerous goods in the medical sector integrating and using existing space technologies (navigational services, communication services) with GSM/UMTS and Internet. The main issue with the dangerous goods transports in the medical sector is that they are often not carried out according to the legal requirements. DG-Trac allows the tracking and tracing of these goods and introduces a centralised mechanism for the management and (controlled) distribution of information concerning each transport. Thanks to the European eCall, in case of an accident, the emergency service will automatically be alerted and informed about the involved dangerous goods and how to handle them. The main objectives of the DG-Trac feasibility study were to identify the stakeholders and user needs, to involve users from the medical and pharmaceutical sector as well as emergency services, and to design a system and service architecture based on the user needs and requirements taking into account the added value of the use of satellite navigation and satellite communication services. Viability studies were carried out to evaluate the economic and non-economic aspects of the proposed service(s) and the related system design and a proof-of-concept showed the principal implementation of such a service and demonstrated its technical feasibility. A roadmap was designed based on the results of the viability analysis and the proof of concept, which showed how a sustainable service for the tracking and tracing of dangerous medical goods could be established.