• Chung-Yuan Huang and Tzai-Hung Wen.
• Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Chang Gung University, 259 Wen Hwa 1st Road, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
• Comput Math Methods Med. 2014 Jan 1; 2014: 241435.

AbstractImmediate treatment with an automated external defibrillator (AED) increases out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patient survival potential. While considerable attention has been given to determining optimal public AED locations, spatial and temporal factors such as time of day and distance from emergency medical services (EMSs) are understudied. Here we describe a geocomputational genetic algorithm with a new stirring operator (GANSO) that considers spatial and temporal cardiac arrest occurrence factors when assessing the feasibility of using Taipei 7-Eleven stores as installation locations for AEDs. Our model is based on two AED conveyance modes, walking/running and driving, involving service distances of 100 and 300 meters, respectively. Our results suggest different AED allocation strategies involving convenience stores in urban settings. In commercial areas, such installations can compensate for temporal gaps in EMS locations when responding to nighttime OHCA incidents. In residential areas, store installations can compensate for long distances from fire stations, where AEDs are currently held in Taipei.

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