Identifying and tracking disaster victims: state-of-the-art technology review

The failure of our nation to adequately track victims of Hurricane Katrina has been identified as a major weakness of national and local disaster preparedness plans. This weakness has prompted government and private industries to acknowledge that existing paper-based tracking systems are incapable of managing information during a large-scale disaster. In response to this need, efforts are under way to develop new technologies that allow instant access to identity and location information during emergency situations. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of state-of-the-art technologies, with implications and limitations for use during mass casualty incidents.