Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | The Evolution of Clinical Practice with AI

From Crawling to Caring, the Evolution of Clinical Practice with AI and Its Transformative Impact on Healthcare. When infants are developing we are encouraged to give them tummy time, as it helps to strengthen their neck, shoulder, and arm muscles, promoting motor skills to prepare them for upcoming milestones like crawling and sitting up. More specifically, we as humans were designed to crawl before walking for one simple reason: to gain proprioceptive input to train our brains, our neural networks, about how the physics of the outside world works. Similarly, AI has an instrumental role in shaping the expertise and situational awareness of clinicians professionally as they begin to adopt it more widely in clinical practice.

As clinicians begin to rely more on AI, they will also need to cultivate new skills, particularly around critical interpretation of AI-generated insights, to fully leverage its potential in patient care.

Indicate crossing the lines and support decisions

When driving, if my car drifts over the solid line on the pavement I get an audible beep, as if to say, “Are you sure you want to do that?” AI can give real-time feedback to aid in auxiliary awareness and decision making as we navigate the world. In the same way, the way that clinicians operate is about to radically change.

Clinical decision support will be present and pervasive in many applications, from complex instrumentation for surgical interventions down to simple more routine instrumentation like the stethoscope. The extraordinary thing about the AI of the future is that it will move beyond the function of a sanity-checker.

More precise decisions

It will function as a second pair of eyes, and even offer an unseen perspective. It will connect the dots with data points the human clinician cannot recall. It will bring new information to their attention from the latest research, enriching the corpus of input available to trigger faster, more precise clinical decision making.

Reasons, Options, Guidance

And while AI will not have all the answers and deterministically say “here’s the exact diagnosis”, it will at least provide a contextualized probabilistic framework, rooted in sophisticated reasoning, to say “here are the options of what it might be and why”. In other words, it is not a validation mechanism. With humans in the loop, models are being trained to give suggestions for differential diagnoses along with the reasoning behind their suspicion.

Learning arguments from complex data and insights

AI works in probabilities using patterns learned from the data. It does not work in absolutes. Healthcare data is complex and thus is best suited to augment, and not replace, clinical decision making with humans and their nuanced understanding of the world. It is hardly feasible to identify practical scenarios where the human clinician is not the final arbiter of patient care. This also means that as clinicians begin to rely more on AI, they will also need to cultivate new skills, particularly around critical interpretation of AI-generated insights, to fully leverage its potential in patient care.

Foster objectivity and widen minds

The silent hum of AI in the background can be the vestibular input our nervous system needs to be increasingly more aware of the environment around us. What’s difficult for people to acknowledge is that human-led clinical decision making and navigation is already deeply biased and flawed by being incredibly subjective, with a bias towards that clinician’s experience. What’s exciting about AI is that it will enable a single human clinician to have access to the experience and wisdom of a multitude of  experienced clinicians. It will be more in tune with clinical outcome rather than practice pattern. It will be savvy to which therapies are uniquely suited to be efficacious for patients like the one in front of them, and those which are not. As AI brings more insights to the point of care, it will widen the aperture of clinicians’ minds to consider greater possibilities and be even more capable to make more comprehensive, evidence-driven decisions. In a sense, AI creates an opportunity for human adaptive intelligence.

Change modus operandi with more views and options

The modus operandi of clinicians is about to radically change. Just as our physical senses extend our cognition in the real-world and allow for sensory integration and cognitive mapping, so too will AI foundationally function bi-directionally, as part of a broader sensory system, to allow clinicians to adapt and refine their decisions accordingly. AI will be that nudge to say, “Are you sure? Have you considered X?” which dynamically integrates clinicians with richer medical insights for more precise and individualized care.

Conclusion

More sophisticated clinical workflows will facilitate synergistic human-AI collaboration leveraging carefully synthesized collective intelligence to bring clinicians greater interpretive acuity and certitude. They will be more attuned to the broader clinical landscape which can enhance the standard of care. What’s more, as AI has the ability to analyze health data on both the population and individual levels, it can enable a dual-layered decision-making paradigm that strengthens the clinicians’ ability to make both broad and specific recommendations and decisions. Acting as a conduit between theoretical knowledge and practical application, AI will foster a more adaptive and resilient healthcare delivery model as standards of medical excellence continue to evolve.

Here the full article from MedCityNews:

https://medcitynews.com/2024/10/from-crawling-to-caring-the-evolution-of-clinical-practice-with-ai-and-its-transformative-impact-on-healthcare/

Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | A way to Green Hospitals

A hospital provides treatment to patients based on their medical condition so they can resume their normal activity following the treatment. It does not aim to turn healthy people into sick ones.

Green hospitals aim to save energy, conserve resources and be environmentally friendly. The focus is mainly on keeping people healthy, not just treating them when they are sick.

The “Green Hospital” concept is based on providing healthcare without causing any harm to the environment and the healthcare worker.

Motives and Goals

In the health sector, the “Green Hospital” is a concept that is beginning to redefine how healthcare facilities are built to protect the environment while saving human lives.

The greater the amount of energy consumed in a hospital, the greater the release of toxic wastes to the environment, causing damage which may put human lives at risk of other diseases and death.

The transformation of hospitals into eco-friendly buildings began by displaying the hazardous healthcare waste as well as harmful effects and then treating them one by one to reach the desired goal. This aims to ensure physical and psychological safety.

Hence began the sanitary disposal of medical waste and the effects resulting from the operation process on the one hand, and modifying practices in workplaces, patient rooms and hospital surroundings, in a way that brings psychological comfort to the patient without harming the healthy.

The shift to constructing sustainable healthcare facilities is largely centred on reducing the carbon burden in hospitals while ensuring that the occupants – staff and patients – are kept safe. More and more hospital administrators are beginning to involve architects in incorporating green concepts into hospital design.

Hospitals utilize more resources and produce more waste materials than most other commercial buildings of a similar size. Healthcare facilities consume more than 315 gallons of water per bed every day and an average US hospital consumes 103.600 Btu of natural gas per square foot annually.

In a typical healthcare centre, lighting, water heating and space heating account for more than 65% of the energy consumption.

It remains fundamental for the construction of healthcare facilities to involve incorporation of green designs and concepts into the process to reduce the impact on the environment, cut down operational costs and increase energy efficiency.

Initiatives to achieve safety

Energy-efficient lighting systems and medical equipment and use of tech-enhanced renewable energy systems.

Daylight exposure and natural ventilation into the environment.

Efficient ways of reducing the air content of toxins and contaminants across all corners of the building.

Capture rainwater from the roof and use it to irrigate the landscaping, a measure, would save 180,000 gallons of drinkable water every year. In addition, the collected rainwater will also be used to operate cooling towers which the hospital uses for their air conditioning system.

Use of high-efficiency windows, super insulated roofs, use of sensors which automatically turn the lights off or on in a room depending on whether it is occupied.

The patient rooms have been redesigned to allow more exposure to natural light and ventilation.

use of non-toxic cleaning chemicals and microfiber mops, discontinuation of use of mercury-containing solutions and medical devices, and use of paper products made from recycled material.

recycling program for lab chemical wastes of toxic solutions, as well as for paper, plastic waste, light bulbs, batteries, and cardboard.

Benefits and Returns

The World Green Building Council groups the benefits of green buildings into three – environmental, economic, and social benefits.

 “Green star certification” by the Green Building Council of Australia led to a 62% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared with the average Australian building.

On a global level, green buildings will save as much as 84 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Benefits include cost savings on utility bills, lower costs of construction, a higher property value for estate developers, and job creation.

Building owners note, as reported in a report by Dodge Data & Analytics, that green buildings – whether newly constructed or renovated – created a 7 percent increase in asset value compared to traditional buildings.

Socially, the green building offers a number of benefits to occupants. Studies have shown that workers in green buildings reported a 101 percent improvement in cognitive scores.

To Achieve this define projects

Achieve a paradigm shift to building green hospitals.

Developed the business as well as the engineering methods.

Provide information on the different tools and resources that to access and the initiatives that Hospitals can join as part of the transformative process they are starting.

Education and engagement of people who work in the sector is integral to success.

Training program seeks to offer technical assistance to the government fulfilling its decarbonization commitments under the Health Program.

Binding agreements between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and Health Care.

Memorandum of understanding to carry out projects that will allow estimating the climate footprint of the national health system at the facility level.

Such project focused on three main pillars

The identification of a representative sample of hospitals and health centres of the health system

Training the teams of those establishments to use the Climate Impact Checkup tool developed by Health Care Without Harm

Technical support so that the establishments that make up the sample can determine the size and composition of their climate footprint.

From data to realization

With the analysis of the data obtained from this exercise, an estimate was made of greenhouse gas emissions from the health sector at the national level.

Based on these findings, a series of specific recommendations will be prepared, which will serve as input for the process of preparing the Comprehensive Sectoral Climate Change Management Plan for the health sector.

More than 50 countries from different regions have committed to developing climate-resilient, sustainable and low-carbon health systems.

Work is underway to design a schedule of activities and advance the implementation of the project to transform hospitals into environmentally friendly.

It is becoming evident day after day how great is the process of transforming hospitals into green buildings and how common this has become around the world after everyone noticed its human and material importance on health institutions, individuals and the entire world.

Here as well the full article by Hospitals Magazin: Green Hospitals – Treating the sick and protecting the healthy

https://hospitalsmagazine.com/green-hospitals-2/

Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | how robotics will transform healthcare

Cutting-edge technologies can play a huge role in transforming the healthcare sector and the robotic-assisted surgery market is predicted to grow to over $14 billion by 2026, up from just over $10 billion in 2023.

Robots are rapidly changing the way we live and work. Whether helping us navigate dangerous terrains or supporting farming efforts, programmable machines are transforming many industries and healthcare is no exception. In fact, the medical industry has been something of a leading light in this area, with forms of robotics being used by doctors for over three decades.

Robots have great potential to address important unmet needs, such as delivering a better healthcare experience for patients through minimally invasive procedures and ensuring consistent, high-quality care with precision tasks.

They can also increase accessibility to specialized treatments, even in remote areas, through telemedicine and robotic-assisted interventions.

And as disruptive forces such as the COVID-19 pandemic have put a strain on the industry in recent years, cutting-edge technologies can play a huge role in relieving some of the pressure, says the World Economic Forum’s Global Health and Healthcare report. Through some incredible innovations, new life-saving techniques are being developed and the patient experience is being improved.

Here are some ways how robotics is transforming the medical industry.

Speeding up diagnoses

By their very nature, hospital emergency rooms require fast decision-making so that medical staff can prioritize patients with the most pressing needs.

Could robots help speed up diagnosis?

The University of York in the UK is investigating how AI software and robotics could be used to reduce patient waiting times, as well as pressure on doctors and nurses. A research team is developing a prototype – called the Diagnostic AI System for Robot-Assisted A&E Triage (DAISY) – which would collect patient data, such as the presenting symptoms and vital signs of the patient.

The  first step is establishing whether patients will accept such an intervention, before they go ahead and test the prototype in a hospital setting.

Elsewhere, robotics are being developed to more quickly diagnose lung cancer. Intuitive has developed Ion, an innovative robotic-assisted platform that aims to enable minimally invasive biopsies that could become a key part of early diagnosis.

Surgical precision

A number of high-tech surgery solutions are giving the term ‘operating system’ new meaning.

Systems such as the da Vinci System and Stryker’s Mako robotic arm assisted surgery system are supporting doctors completing invasive surgeries and joint replacements.

In the UK, a seven-year-old boy has been treated for a kidney condition using a groundbreaking robot-assisted device. The Versius Surgical Robotic System aims to give patients quicker recovery times and less post-operative pain.

Many other new tools and techniques are being developed, with the robotic-assisted surgery market predicted to grow to over $14 billion by 2026, up from just over $10 billion in 2023, reports Oliver Wyman.

Reimagining mobility

While robotics can help healthcare professionals diagnose and treat health conditions as they emerge, they are also helping individuals experiencing pre-diagnosed conditions improve their quality of life.

Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kevin Piette – who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident over a decade before – used an exoskeleton to walk through the streets of the French capital as he carried the Olympic flame. Developed by Wandercraft, the Atalante X is described as “the first and only self-stabilizing exoskeleton”.

Yrobot meanwhile is a cutting-edge wearable robotics company founded by PhDs and masters from Harvard and MIT, aiming to restore and enhance wearers’ mobility with robotics. Different from traditional exoskeletons that assist wearers by supporting their body weight, Yrobot developed the world’s first muscle armor which is more flexible, lighter, and smarter.

Researchers have also managed to connect robotic limbs to the nervous system of a wearer in a breakthrough they hope will improve the comfort and reliability of prostheses. The patient – a Swedish woman who lost her arm in a farming accident and who had been experiencing phantom limb pain – said the procedure had given her “a better life”.

Wearable robotics are also bridging into more commercial spaces. Outdoor apparel company Arc’teryx – in collaboration with Skip, a business set up by former Google employees – has developed powered hiking trousers that can aid users with mobility issues.

Remote possibilities

Robotics are also being used to drive advancements in telemedicine – the remote care of patients. Boston-based start-up Perceptive claims to have completed the first fully robotic dental procedure using fully automated dental technologies, including AI analysis of data as well as robotic arms and tools.

Elsewhere, a remote-controlled, swallowable robot has been developed to help doctors perform remote endoscopies. The PillBot, developed by Endiatx, is intended to allow patients to interact with gastroenterologists from the comfort of their own home.

Rehab with robots

The technology is also being applied to patient after-care. The National Robotarium partnered with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology on a pilot study to develop socially assistive robots to support stroke and brain injury survivors through upper limb rehabilitation routines – which currently only 31% of patients complete.

The robot communicates with patients via a headset which detects neural activity. The signals are used to decipher what movement the patient is intending to complete; the robot can then give verbal motivation, demonstrate the move visually and feedback as the patient completes the required movement.

Enhancing training

As well as providing new ways to care for patients, robots are also being developed to support the training of new medical staff.

The UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies has developed a humanoid robot named RIA. Students can engage in role-play training with the robot, which can be programmed to pretend it has a wide range of ailments.

RIA doesn’t get judgmental. She doesn’t get tired. She doesn’t check her smartphone, so she’s able to conduct these role plays continuously, effortlessly, over and over again.

Using AI and robotics, RIA can provide human-like emotional reactions – helping doctors prepare for real-life patient interactions.

Here the link to the full World Economic Forum Article:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/09/robots-medical-industry-healthcare

Thaumatec HealthTech Industry update | Personalize Patient Care with Confidence

Hospital systems often encounter unintended compliance risks despite their commitment to following HIPAA regulations. Improving patient care and driving business growth through the use of data analytics are worthy goals, but when tools to support these goals are inadvertently misused, unexpected violations may result.

Good intentions offer little protection from an allegation of improperly obtaining or sharing data, highlighting the need for vigilant compliance measures to avoid costly mistakes.

Elevate care experiences while attracting and retaining patients

most hospitals rely on data-driven insights to drive success. Failing to leverage actionable intelligence could affect an organization’s ability to provide personalized care and meet public health needs, making it difficult to remain competitive.

The solution  

responsible procurement and handling of data and digital marketing insights by hospitals – can generate useful information to improve patient wellness and operational efficiency without compromising compliance.

Access to internal healthcare data can improve patient outcomes

According to a Society of Actuaries survey, 60% of healthcare executives use healthcare data analytics in their organizations. Of those respondents, well over half have noticed positive differences in patient experiences and cost savings, 42% reported improved satisfaction and 39% lowered their expenditures.

Data-driven intelligence enables the creation of treatment plans tailored to individual patient needs.

The collected insights can also help to optimize digital workflows, which reduces hospital wait times and administrative workloads.

With data analytics offering significant advantages in both patient care and operational efficiency, health centres must be able to leverage this information with confidence and in full compliance with regulations.

From the outset, it’s vital to collaborate with an analytics team that possesses a deep understanding of both data utilization and compliance with HIPAA, which limits the release of a patient’s protected health information without authorization.

Anonymizing data is another useful practice to ensure that any information collected cannot be linked to individuals.

Digital marketing data supports hospital growth and service

Digital analytics data offers a wealth of intelligence that can be used to enhance patient experiences and improve care delivery. With 80% of consumers turning to the internet for health-related research and nearly two-thirds selecting a healthcare provider based on their online presence, implementing strong digital strategies is essential for organizations to draw in and retain patients.

By analysing online behaviour and patient interactions, hospitals can identify pain points, streamline processes, and create engaging experiences.

This approach informs design and functionality enhancements, optimizes online resources, and refines customer service programs, ensuring patients and families can easily find the information and support they need.

When implementing marketing strategies that involve sharing data with analytics vendors, organizations can protect against incidents by partnering only with tracking technology vendors that sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).

This safeguards against unapproved disclosures of protected health information (PHI) and maintains the privacy and security of sensitive personal information.

Consistent HIPAA compliance begins with education

One of the main contributors to improper data usage is a lack of understanding about what HIPAA requires. To eliminate any confusion and make the consequences of non-compliance clear, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued guidance on the use of website tracking technology.

The entity’s bulletin, released June 20, outlines the fundamentals of tracking technologies, their applications, and the necessary measures for organizations subject to HIPAA regulations to protect electronic PHI when utilizing these technologies.

When alerted to the potential risks of improper online tracking, hospitals often instinctively halt all data collection, but this drastic measure is unnecessary. By doing so, they would forfeit valuable insights that could enhance patient care and operational efficiency.

Instead, healthcare systems should seek out analytics companies willing to sign a BAA, ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations. While not all companies will agree to this, those that do can provide guidance on implementing tracking tools in a responsible and compliant manner.

Balancing HIPAA compliance with effective data collection and usage is not only possible, it’s essential for modern healthcare organizations and the people who depend on them.

Education on the nuances of HIPAA and recent guidance from HHS will enable hospital systems to confidently collect and appropriately use patient data to enhance care delivery from the ground up.

Here the link to the full MedCityNews Article:

https://medcitynews.com/2024/09/personalize-patient-care-with-confidence-through-efficient-hipaa-compliant-data-usage/

Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | How Startups can achieve a successful Tech Pilot

In recent years, providers have been increasingly conducting tech pilots to see which solutions can best improve their clinical and operation success.
They have been scaling up their tech and IT spend in recent years, increasingly conducting tech pilots to see which solutions can best improve their enterprise’s clinical and operation success.

4 Things Startups Must Know to Achieve a Successful Tech Pilot

Ask providers how you can be their partner

Physicians and other providers want to do better, and patients need a lot more.
How can we fill that gap? The answer is to be with the patient 24/7 when the patient is not with the provider. That value prop is an easy sell to providers because that is something that they’re looking for.

This is a complement to traditional providers’ care delivery models, so it pivoted to a provider partner model in addition to its core direct-to-consumer model.

Such startup employs a holistic approach to e.g. women’s health management which is an approach that most traditional providers simply don’t have the time or resources to employ.

Quickly expanding to a business model that includes tech pilots with traditional providers is a smart decision, a decision that more direct-to-consumer startups should consider.

Demonstrate a solid integration plan

When a hospital is thinking about beginning a tech pilot with a vendor, it really wants to know that the vendor is capable of understanding the various technological intricacies of the hospital’s existing technology and operations systems.

    You have to have the ability to have a conversation with just about any large enterprise health system because you are essentially fully integrated into EHRs (sometimes five at the time). If You knew how to do it like the back of our hand than you understand the challenges of working with many different internal organizations to get an implementation done.


    Having this type of expertise is extremely attractive to health system customers.

    Have some humility

    Tech pilots tend to have the best outcomes when the hospital and vendor agree that the pilot is the first step toward a bigger deployment in the future.

    If you do a pilot for pilot’s sake, just for marketing or to show to the investors, then you do the pilot, and it’s done. There’s nothing else after that. The goal should be scalable transformation.

    With this goal in mind, startups should approach their partnerships with humility.

    Instead of telling hospitals how great the product is and how much they need to buy it, vendors should try to work with hospitals to understand their specific pain points.
    That way, the vendor and the hospitals can work together to modify the product so it can best address the organization’s unique needs.

    Make sure that the AI is really good

      Over the past few years, it seems like every digital health startup is promoting its AI capabilities, however, it’s unclear if all these startups are truly using AI to make a difference in healthcare.

      AI isn’t the glorious buzzword that some startup founders may think it is. When you try to sell a provider an AI solution, you’re introducing them to a new layer of risk.
      That means that the startup will need to have some AI experts on its team that can define that risk to providers and help them mitigate it.
      This is an important consideration for startups to think about.


      AI isn’t just a buzzword, so if you’re going to make it a key part of your value proposition, do so carefully.

      If you are interested deeper please have a look at the full article of MedCity News’ INVEST Digital Health conference in Dallas where healthcare leaders shared their insight on how startups can best serve their provider partners during these pilots.


      https://medcitynews.com/2024/09/healthcare-technology-startup/

      Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | Insights at the Point of Care and Beyond using AI

      To date, the options to operationalize that data to inform care and experiences have been somewhat limited. Conversational, non-clinical data can be unstructured, and combing through that data to surface the most relevant insights can be a challenge for frontline providers who are already pressed for time.

      But as we move towards a model of care that places patients at the centre of their care journey, artificial intelligence (AI) presents an unprecedented opportunity to revolutionize healthcare delivery across the patient journey, but especially at the point of care.


      By ingesting unstructured conversational data, AI can surface the exact insights needed to improve care, at the exact moments those insights can best be put to bear.

      Imagine a healthcare environment where care teams are empowered with real-time insights, allowing them to make swift, accurate decisions tailored to each patient. That’s the new reality, hospital leaders only need to stand up the capabilities.

      By doing so, they can enhance the patient experience and elevate the quality of care provided, ensuring that every patient interaction is as personalized and efficient as possible.

      The evolution of patient-cantered communications

      Historically, patient engagement was built only on direct, often time-consuming interactions that, while personal, were not always efficient. The advent of digital technologies marked a significant shift, introducing electronic health records (EHRs), patient portals, and telehealth services.
      These solutions were applied at scale in a ‘one size fits all model’ and while they work for many, they don’t work for everyone. Meanwhile, they also created overwhelming amounts of data, spurring entirely new challenges.


      With AI, we can analyse data from previous rounds:

      • identify key insights, and present them to care teams in an easily digestible format, at the moment they’re most needed.
      • This not only saves time but also ensures that each patient receives care tailored to their unique needs and history.
      • The result is a more efficient, effective, patient-cantered, and care-team-connected approach to care.

      Surfacing insights at the point of care


      In the traditional model of patient care, valuable conversational data often remains buried within electronic health records, accessible but overlooked amidst the daily hustle of clinical duties. And even when insights are surfaced, it’s clinical insights which sensibly get the most airtime. Still, there’s immense value providers can realize from conversational insights gleaned from previous patient rounds, focusing on patient experience, preferences, and other factors that directly impact satisfaction.


      By leveraging generative AI to surface those insights right at the bedside, providers can access meaningful context, streamline workflows, cut down on time spent hunting and gathering for information, and critically, leverage technology that will continually learn and adapt over time. That type if instant access to conversational data enables:


      Real-time access to patient histories and preferences and AI-powered systems can instantly compile and present relevant patient information to healthcare providers as they enter an examination room or approach a hospital bed, medical history, but also communication preferences, previous concerns, and subtle cues from past interactions.


      AI-driven analyses of past interactions and outcomes by analysing patterns from previous patient interactions across the healthcare system, AI can offer valuable context for each encounter.

      Beyond individual interactions: Identifying trends for operational excellence

      While the impact of AI on individual patient interactions is significant, its potential to drive broader operational improvements is perhaps even more compelling. By aggregating and analysing data from countless patient communications, AI can uncover valuable insights that inform strategic decision-making and resource allocation, that comes through:


      For aggregating and analysing patient communication data the AI systems can process vast amounts of data from various communication and engagement channels, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of patient needs and experiences across the entire care journey.

      For uncovering patterns and trends in patient experience the AI can identify recurring themes, common concerns, and emerging trends surfaced through patient communications.

      To inform strategic decisions and resource allocation the trends and patterns uncovered can directly inform strategic decision-making at both the departmental and organizational levels.


      The future of insights-enabled healthcare


      The integration of AI into patient-cantered communications by surfacing conversational, behavioural, and environmental insights at the point of care (and enabling data-driven operational decisions) AI has the power to transform individual patient experiences and drive systemic improvements in care quality and efficiency.

      AI’s implementation needs to be undertaken responsibly and Hospitals must earn the right to use these technologies through careful rigor and review, provide transparency for how these systems work, and ensure they communicate how carefully our customers’ and their patients’ data is cared for.

      When those requirements are satisfied, the potential benefits of AI-enhanced communications are immense, from:

      • more personalized and effective patient interactions
      • proactive, population-level health interventions
      • commitment to innovation
      • willingness to reimagine established processes
      • thoughtful approach to implementation that prioritizes both technological advancement and human-centered care.

      Here you could find the full Article by MedCityNews:

      https://medcitynews.com/2024/09/the-new-role-of-engagement-surfacing-insights-at-the-point-of-care-and-beyond/

      Thaumatec Healthtech Industry Update | First extra long range magnetic Tele-Endoscopy

      First magnetic teleendoscopy from a distance of 9,300 km

      Researchers from ETH Zurich and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have succeeded for the first time in Zurich in carrying out a magnetic endoscopy using remote control on a live pig in Hong Kong. The technology could enable better surgical care in remote areas in the future – especially for procedures for which local expertise is not available.

      The endoscope is controlled with the joystick of a Playstation controller.

      There are over 9,300 kilometers between the operating room in Hong Kong and the room in Zurich from which Alexandre Mesot controls the endoscope at three in the morning. Mesot is a doctoral student in ETH Professor Bradley Nelson’s Multi-Scale Robotics Lab. He looks at a screen with live images of the operation and moves the joystick on a Playstation controller.

      Ultra low latency

      With a delay of only around 300 milliseconds, a four-millimeter-thin probe passes through the stomach of a live but anesthetized pig in the operating room in Hong Kong. Mesot uses a camera to examine the animal’s stomach wall and takes tissue samples with a tiny gripper arm. The procedure is the first remote-controlled magnetic endoscopy. The details were published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.

      Two things were crucial for this breakthrough to succeed

      A magnetic navigation system with a magnetically controllable endoscope developed at ETH Zurich and a secure and fast internet connection to the operating room.

      The endoscope is controlled with the joystick of a Playstation controller.

      (Image: The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

      Magnetic endoscopies are less stressful

      The remote-controlled procedure was accompanied and monitored in the operating room by surgeons from the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

      They inserted the magnetic endoscope through the mouth into the pig’s stomach. Before Mesot could take over the navigation of the probe in Zurich, it was tested in the operating room by a team from the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab and by the Hong Kong surgeons.

      The endoscope is controlled via a magnetic field generated by Navion, a surgical navigation system developed by ETH Professor Bradley Nelson and his team. “Thanks to a magnetic head, the endoscope can not only be bent in all directions, it is also smaller and easier to control than conventional devices,” explains Mesot.

      Endoscope Mobility

      The magnetic head makes the endoscope particularly mobile.

      Due to the great mobility of the magnetic endoscope, ETH researcher Mesot was able to easily carry out a so-called retroflexion in the animal’s stomach.

      After entering the stomach cavity, the endoscope is bent backwards 180 degrees to inspect the stomach entrance. This complex procedure shows that magnetic endoscopes can be navigated from a distance at least as flexibly as standard devices.

      In addition, the smaller endoscope can also be inserted into people through the nose, rather than through the mouth, as is common in traditional endoscopies. This is less stressful because patients do not need to be fully sedated and are awake and able to provide feedback during the procedure.

      The magnetic endoscope is also potentially suitable for use in children where conventional probes are too large.

      Teleoperated endoscopy offers many possibilities

      In the next step of the research there is hope to perform a teleendoscopy on the human stomach. There is a lot of potential in this technology, for example for minimally invasive interventions in the gastrointestinal tract, such as cancer screening examinations.

      Teleoperated endoscopy can be used not only for surgical training but also for diagnostic and surgical care in remote areas, especially when there is a lack of local expertise.

      Remotely, trained nurses could even be instructed to perform the procedures.

      Here you could find the full German Article by DeviceMed.de:

      https://www.devicemed.de/fernsteuerung-magnetische-endoskopie-durchbruch-chirurgie-a-b79e0db903037ef6c550ad798c892a1f

      Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | Clinical Documentation AI Tools in Health Care Systems

      In most industries, data entry is generally relegated to individuals that are rather lower-skilled.

      Healthcare is unique.

      The most highly skilled people do the data entry — and it’s a lot of data entry. Most physicians will candidly tell you that documentation is their least favourite part of the day. While most doctors loathe the clinical documentation process, they also recognize that it’s important and many performance and quality ratings are based on what is found in clinical notes.

      Therefore Health systems are launching enterprise-wide deployments of AI-powered clinical documentation tools. Hospital leaders agree that this technology reduces physician burnout, as well as allows physicians to have more meaningful and productive interactions with patients. That computer work involves clinical documentation required after each patient visit. 

      The only way clinicians could do the paper work for hospital patients and completing fulfil all clinical documentation tasks was to get up at 5 a.m.  to complete the notes before the family woke up. But AI assistant could reduce clinicians’ documentation burden.

      AI-powered documentation tools will become ubiquitous among healthcare providers in the next five years.

      Clinician documentation assistants are one of the most valuable AI tools that hospitals can adopt because they help both clinicians and patients by alleviating burnout and allowing for more meaningful interactions.

      The documentation burden through its AI-powered voice assistant for physicians could solve as well many things and by calling out to the AI assistant, a physician can quickly access key information about their patient, such as their medications, vital signs, allergies or surgical histories.

      Physicians can also use the AI tool to do things like dictate clinical notes, pull up their weekly schedule and assist with ICD-10 coding.

      The assistant can also generate clinical notes from ambiently listening to a conversation between a physician and their patient. These notes are automatically sent back to the patient’s EHR so that the physician can review and make any necessary changes before finalizing it.

      EXAMPLES

      Suki

      This month, Ascension Saint Thomas announced its plans to integrate Suki’s AI assistant into its residency program as part of a greater system-wide rollout.

      With Suki, clinicians are able to edit and finalize notes directly in the EHR, which reduces their number of overall clicks.

      Suki’s assistant can also generate clinical notes from ambiently listening to a conversation between a physician and their patient. These notes are automatically sent back to the patient’s EHR so that the physician can review and make any necessary changes before finalizing it.

      Suki’s tool easily can be integrated into its Athenahealth EHR. It typically takes about five business days to integrate the AI assistant into a health system’s Athenahealth EHR.

      As well integration with other EHRs is possible, including Epic, Cerner and Elation Health, according to the company’s website.

      DeepScribe

      The New Orleans-based health system is rolling out DeepScribe’s AI assistant to its 4,700 employed and affiliated physicians.

      DeepScribe is integrated with several EHRs, including Epic and Athenahealth.

      It ambiently listens to the patient-provider interaction and provides a transcript that captures the dialogue.

      It also produces clinical note drafts that clinicians can edit and submit in the EHR.

      Health Care produces giant health records that can tell you everything about patients but for some reason, everybody wants to look at the doctor’s note to know how a patient is doing. As a doctor, you want to show that you’re doing your work, but some doctors are better at showing their work than others.

      Abridge

      Just last week, Kaiser Permanente unveiled plans for a big documentation AI rollout as well. The health system will be deploying Abridge’s clinical documentation tool across its 40 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices in eight states.

      The tool, which is integrated with Epic, listens in on appointments, creates a transcript and generates a clinical note for physicians to edit in the EHR.

      Doctors and patients “feeling so much more engaged”. Before adding ambient listening to visits, patients often felt like their physician wasn’t listening to them because they spent the whole appointment sitting in front of a computer typing, she pointed out.

      The tool is scalable and easy to integrate across the health system’s enterprise, and clinicians gave overwhelmingly positive feedback during the pilot.

      Abridge’s AI did well on verification testing too. The health system had its quality assurance team perform a series of tests on the AI so it could independently assess if its clinicians felt comfortable with the quality of the transcripts and generated notes.

      Microsoft DAX

      An enterprise-wide deployment may also soon be in the cards for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This week, the health system announced that it has started piloting Microsoft Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX).

      Microsoft’s DAX tool came with its 2022 acquisition of Nuance. The AI-powered tool, which is integrated with EHRs like Epic and Cerner, creates clinical notes by listening to patient-provider conversations and generates structured documentation in real-time.

      Internal audits show that the tool currently saves Ohio State clinicians about 30 minutes to an hour per day.

      More eye contact, and facing the patient and pick up on more nonverbal cues, completely focused on our patients.

      Ohio State has already run 5,000 patient encounters through DAX.

      Conclusion

      AI tools are proliferating in multiple areas within healthcare, but when it comes to clinical documentation, the verdict is in:

      AI makes doctors more efficient and satisfied, which ultimately will have a positive effect on patients.

      Interested in more? Have a look into the whole article by MedCityNews:

      https://medcitynews.com/2024/08/clinical-documentation-healthcare-burnout/

      Thaumatec HealthTech Industry Update | Technology for private practices

      Technology empowers private practices to sustain their role in the healthcare ecosystem. For independent practices to thrive, it will largely depend on how well they can adapt and implement emerging technology. Technology empowers private practices to sustain their role in the healthcare ecosystem.

      Consolidation phase

      Since the pandemic, many medical providers have faced severe burnout and strain, working around-the-clock hours under hazardous conditions. Consolidation is often forced by burnout and exhaustion of providers. Doctors went to school to provide care to patients. However, they become small business owners and face challenges of managing all operations, HR, IT, practice growth, reputation management, and revenue management.

      With so many providers considering consolidation, the opportunity to receive fair and quality medical care from independent practices as opposed to large-scale hospital corporations is diminishing, dampening patient trust in the healthcare system.

      Consumerization of healthcare

      The consumerization of healthcare is a broad shift from the healthcare market to individual healthcare consumers, meaning individuals are asserting more influence over their medical and wellness care. Healthcare consumers want a convenient and digitally-enabled experience from the time they submit an inquiry to the treatment and subsequent follow-ups. Convenience and customized experiences drive consumer behaviour. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of consumer-centric

      Technology for Private Practices

      Technology in a practice is to divide it up into what you need for your clinical practice, and then what you need for the administrative part of your practice.

      Cloud-based EMR

      The most important piece of technology you’re going to have is a really solid cloud-based electronic medical record [EMR] system. You want to make sure to get one that has billing functionality as well, so that you can do a lot of the claims processing and the clearinghouse work that’s needed to drop your claims to the insurance companies.

      Imaging as part of your practice

      A cloud-based PACS [picture archive and communication system] reading system or DICOM [digital imaging and communications in medicine] reading system, so that you can actually access your images, read them, and write reports from anywhere. It turns out to be a lifesaver if you’re sitting on vacation on the beach somewhere and you need to look at an echo [echocardiogram] or you’re behind on reading your echoes or what have you, that you can access it from anywhere.

      Solid bookkeeping software that also allows you to do payroll

      This keeps your costs down in the beginning, and also really allows you to have a sense of how much you’re spending, how much you’re making, because that bookkeeping software, something like QuickBooks, which is also cloud-based, can really help you track that.

      VoIP telephone

      This is basically a phone that works through the internet. The advantage of this kind of technology is that you can have virtual assistants all over the world. I, for example, have a virtual assistant who works out of the Philippines. He answers the phone, he’s a front desk person. That helps me to keep the cost down. It also allows me to be able to have multiple people manning the phones at the same time, because this allows multiple users that occur.

      Straight-to-voicemail.

      This is a lifesaver when you’re calling patients back with results and you don’t necessarily want them to answer the phone, you just want to leave a quick message about something. You can actually call them in a way that sends it directly to their voicemail. And, of course, texting is also a nice thing to have.

      Solid Website

      You don’t necessarily need to have a fancy one, you can design one yourself, but you do need to make sure that it’s maintained and kept up-to-date so that patients can access your contact information, your fax number, and also reach out to you.

      Workflow Process

      A workflow process where patients can now check in online, they can pay their copay, they can fill out the intake, they can do a lot of those types of things before their appointments. For my tech-savvy patients, this saves a lot of time in the office.

      Include shared notes and apps that can allow you to share tasks across different providers and different staff members. This is a nice way to know who’s doing what. For example, if a patient needs to be called back or scheduled and there’s three or four MAs [medical assistants] in the office, you create the task, share it with them, and they can allocate the work accordingly.

      Minimize patients portal messages by having a way that they can streamline their communication. So you’re not getting a message from them every single day, you’re getting one message with all of their questions.

      Coclusion

      The benefits that stem from independent practices include access to care in rural communities, lower care costs, and better patient experiences. For independent practices to thrive, it will largely depend on how well they can adapt and implement emerging technology to streamline practice operations and bring patients a better overall experience

      Thaumatec Knowledge Guide | What does Non-Invasive mean ?

      In this article let us dive into the world of Noninvasive Medicine. Noninvasive devices do not enter any body orifices such as the mouth or nostrils, they do not touch the eyes and even though they may come into contact with injured skin, they do not pierce the skin in any way.

      In today’s world, technology plays an important role in every industry as well as in our personal lives. Needless to say, medical and healthcare is one of the domains where technology is playing a crucial role. The integration of the latest technologies and several scientific innovations in Non-Invasive Medical Devices development is hugely enabling the healthcare industry by providing cutting-edge Medical diagnosis and treatment procedures, saving countless lives across the globe.

      Generally medical devices can be divided into 3 groups:
      • non-invasive devices
      • minimal invasive devices
      • invasive devices

      What does Non-Invasive mean?

      Noninvasive is the opposite of invasive.

      The term Non-Invasive can refer to diseases, procedures, or devices.

      Non-Invasive diseases

      One Group of Noninvasive diseases are these which usually do not spread to or damage other organs and tissues

      Secondly many life-threatening diseases remain obscure in their early disease stages and Symptoms appear only at the advanced stage when the survival rate is poor.

      A non-invasive diagnostic tool may be able to identify disease even at the asymptotic stage and save lives.

      Non-Invasive procedures

      do not involve tools that break the skin or physically enter the body. Examples include x-rays, a standard eye exam, CT scan, MRI, ECG, and Holter monitoring.

      Non-Invasive Devices

      Non-Invasive Medical Devices do not enter any body orifices such as the mouth or nostrils, they do not touch the eyes and even though they may come into contact with injured skin, they do not pierce the skin in any way.

      Non-Invasive Devices

      Non-Invasive Medical Devices cater to not just solution specifications and functions to satisfy users’ needs but addresses healthcare regulatory compliances.

      Introduction & Market

      The advancements in Non-Invasive Medical Electronics has introduced miniaturization and enhanced applications, specifically in the areas of medical data acquisition, storage, and analysis. These advancements in Non-Invasive Medical Electronics are aiding physicians in quick diagnosis, continuous monitoring, and providing better treatments.

      One of the reports from Markets and Markets shows that the estimated medical electronics market in 2019 was USD 5.1 billion and the study projects it to reach USD 6.6 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 4.6%.

      What is Medical Electronics?

      One of the most extensively growing fields in today’s era is the Medical Electronics or Medical Electronics Devices. “Medical Electronics” is the study of electronic Non-invasive Medical Electronics, Non-invasive Medical device instruments and devices that are used for diagnosis, therapy, research, surgery, monitoring & analysis of the patient’s health. Medical Electronics is a perfect amalgamation of embedded systems, software applications and medical science to improve healthcare services.

      With embedded technology, the physicians can obtain the medical reports of the patient instantly, view them on embedded software-driven electronic devices, monitor the patient, and give consultation remotely without any hassle.

      Non-Invasive Medical Electronics Devices

      Medical Electronics Product Development constitutes a wide range of medical devices, which can be classified into two categories:

      • Invasive Medical Devices (Endoscope, Cardiac Pacemakers, and Biosensors, laparoscope that break through the skin or inserted through a body cavity (nose, mouth, etc.) to screen, analyze or support one or more body functions)
      • Non-invasive Medical Devices (Vital sign monitoring devices such as ECG, Glucometer, Digital/IR Thermometer, Digital Stethoscope, and imaging devices such as MRI, CT Scan, and other life support medical devices, used in diagnosis and treatment without penetrating the body).
      • Compact Non-invasive Medical Electronics (nowadays available in compact form and support regular or continuous monitoring at home).

      Types of Non-Invasive Medical Devices

      Medical device product development is the process of turning a medical device concept into a commercially viable product. Medical devices requires specific stages to be followed to ensure design control so that the product is both effective and safe for use. As a result, this covers the entire product development cycle, from medical device design to clinical trials, and risk management to manufacture.

      Listed below are a few of the popularly known non-invasive medical devices

      CT Scan and MRI

      Computed Tomography (CT) scanners and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are medical imaging techniques used in radiology to non-invasively scan the body. CT Scan uses X-rays to scan the body part from different angles and produce the cross-section images whereas MRI scanner uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate a detailed image of soft tissues and bones of the body.

      ECG

      Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an Non-invasive medical devices that monitors the activities of the heart and provide full disclosure Non-invasive Medical Electronics, Non-invasive Medical devicesECG signal, complete data, analysis as well as comprehensive reporting of the patient’s condition.

      Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM) Machines

      During pregnancy, labour, and delivery of the baby, the heart rate of the baby, maternal uterine activity such as the strength of the uterus and the duration of the contractions of the uterus is monitored to help the physicians assess Fetal well-being before and after labour.

      Defibrillators

      Defibrillators are used by physicians to monitor a patient suffering from cardiac issues. The defibrillator analyses the patient’s heart for inconsistent rhythms and restores a normal heartbeat, when necessary, by gently sending electric shock. They are also used to restore the heartbeats of a patient if the heart suddenly stops functioning.

      Glucometer

      A portable device to check the blood sugar Non-invasive Medical Electronics, Non-invasive Medical deviceslevel of the patient. The wireless smart glucometer measures the glucose levels in the blood and displays them on smartphones. It is a technique where the lancet lightly prinks the skin to obtain the blood. The device detects the glucose concentration in the blood and converts into a voltage using special sensor strips. The current flowing through the circuit provides a measurement of the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, displaying the glucose concentration on the digital screen or sending it to a smartphone.

      IR thermometers

      The Infrared (IR) thermometer, sometimes called Laser thermometers is used to help aim the thermometer for measuring the temperature of a patient from a distance. The thermometer includes a lens to focus the IR thermal radiation on to a detector, captures the radiation, and converts it into an electrical signal and displays in units of temperature on the compact screen.

      Digital stethoscope

      A palm held stethoscope is the smallest and most powerful and comfortable device which uses audio headphones to hear the heartbeat. It has a microphone in the chest piece which allows a doctor or clinician to accurately understand the pathology behind the heartbeats. It can convert an acoustic sound to electronic signals and amplify it for optimal listening.

      Blood Pressure monitors

      Non-invasive Medical Electronics, Non-invasive Medical devicesBP monitors can either be placed on the upper arm or wrist. The sensors present in the device detect the arterial wall vibrations, converts the analog signals to digital, and display the result on the LCD screen.

      Blood Oxygen Monitor

      SPO2 or Pulse Oximeter, this device estimates the amount of oxygen in a patient’s blood. It is a painless process of emitting and absorbing an infrared light wave passing through the capillaries of fingertip, toe, or earlobe. A variation of the light wave passing through the blood vessels (or capillaries) is used to determine the SPO2 level and the result is processed into a digital display of oxygen saturation on the monitor.

      External cardiac pacemaker

      The pacemaker is a small medical device that is used to treat arrhythmia. The device is placed on the patient’s chest to maintain an adequate heart rate. It generates electrical pulses delivered by the sensors called electrodes which detects the patient’s heart rate and accelerates it to contract and pump the blood when the heartbeat is abnormal.

      Conclusion

      The non-invasive medical electronics industry has advanced to the extent that individuals can now monitor their health at home using sophisticated equipment. With the bloom of Industry 4.0, Internet of things, Artificial Intelligence and Medical Device Software Development, the future looks great for non-invasive medical electronics.

      Volatile metabolites-based diagnostics hold a lot of promise to fulfil this demand. Many experimental techniques are being developed to establish a reliable non-invasive diagnostic tool. However, none of them are yet able to fulfil clinicians’ demands.

      Here the link to the full article by mistralsolutions:

      https://www.mistralsolutions.com/blog/overview-medical-electronics/

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