UC San Diego researchers have developed Project CRASHCART, a mobile backup computing system designed to restore essential IT functions at hospitals hit by cyberattacks. The van-based unit can bring patient records, communication networks and clinical workflows back online for a 20-bed emergency department.
The project comes from the UC San Diego Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity, co-directed by Jeff Tully, MD, a clinical associate professor of anesthesiology, and Christian Dameff, MD, an associate professor of emergency medicine, biomedical informatics and computer science. “We’re seeing more and more cyberattacks on critical hospital infrastructure,” Dr. Dameff said in an Aug. 19 UC San Diego article.
The team tested the system at El Centro (Calif.) Regional Medical Center, a level 4 trauma center and one of only two acute care hospitals in Imperial County. Andrew LaFree, MD, chief of staff at El Centro Regional Medical Center, said in the article the system “worked at a pretty high level” in addressing the hospital’s needs.
Project CRASHCART uses satellite and cellular links to create a private 5G network inside a hospital. The team also demonstrated the technology for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which funds the Healthcare Ransomware Resiliency and Response Program that supports the project.
Rural and critical access hospitals face outsized cyberattack risk due to limited IT resources, Dr. Tully noted.
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