A 海角社区 researcher is being awarded $748,500 from to test a new portable ultrasound system that could shorten wait times and save money in hospital emergency departments.
The Ultrasound Arm Injury Detection tool uses artificial intelligence to allow triage nurses or primary care physicians to accurately scan for fractures of the wrist or elbow or tears in the rotator cuff.
Suspected injury to the upper limbs is responsible for one out of every five visits to emergency departments in Canada, according to , assistant professor in the Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, who developed the system.
“What happens right now is people have to wait and — depending on which emergency department you go to and how busy they are that day — it could take from two to six hours to have an X-ray and then see the doctor,” Hareendranathan says. “With our tool, if you are able to rule out a fracture, that cuts down on the wait time and saves money on the diagnosis.”
The new tool uses AI to augment a portable ultrasound device, allowing the operator to determine whether an accurate scan has been captured and then reporting on whether a fracture has been detected.
The tool can be used by a “lightly trained” nurse or physician rather than requiring a sonographer or radiologist, who must train intensively to learn how to operate traditional diagnostic imaging equipment.
“The novice user often gets a good scan but they don’t know at what point to freeze the image, whereas in our system we automate that process,” explains Hareendranathan. “If it’s not a fracture, you will probably be given a painkiller and you’re good to go home.”
If a fracture is detected, the patient gets a followup X-ray or MRI scan to confirm the diagnosis and treatment plan, which can range from a simple splint to surgery for more severe injuries.
Hareendranathan has worked for a decade with a team of researchers who are striving to make portable ultrasound technology accessible outside of big-city hospitals. Radiologist is now doing clinical trials on an AI-powered portable ultrasound system to detect hip dysplasia in newborns, and , with the at the , uses a combination of robotics and AI to produce 3D images of the heart using ultrasound.
“Ultrasound is fast, safe and highly sensitive to fractures, making it ideally suited for wrist examination in emergency departments,” Hareendranathan reported in a .
Hareendranathan has up to three years to clinically validate his system with patients at the pediatric emergency department of the and an clinic in Edmonton.
He’s confident the system will prove easy to use and “likable” to the staff there.
“These three conditions are not lethal by any stretch of the imagination, but their prevalence in emergency departments impedes treatment for more significant cases,” Hareendranathan says. “It’s a question of equity and also personalized treatment of the patient.”
“Funding medical innovations is critically important to advancing technologies from the lab into clinics around Alberta,” says Nate Glubish, Alberta minister of , who was at the 海角社区 for of Alberta Innovates funding totalling $12.4 million for new health-care research. “That’s not only good for health innovation but for all Albertans.”
“Creating innovation in the health system requires support at all levels, from the earliest stages right through to those that are commercially viable,” says Laura Kilcrease, CEO of Alberta Innovates. “When innovators like those in the AICE – Concepts and LevMax-Health programs succeed, we achieve better patient outcomes and a stronger economy.”
Six other 海角社区 projects will also receive funding from Alberta Innovates.
“The 海角社区 is a global leader in health research, and we’ve identified it as one of our top priorities,” says Aminah Robinson Fayek, 海角社区 vice-president of research and innovation. “We’re grateful that Alberta Innovates supports our researchers’ efforts to get their life-changing innovations from the lab to the bedside, to help improve outcomes for patients in Alberta and beyond.”
The program supports research on ways to use digital and data-enabled solutions for the health-care system.
- , biochemistry
“Integrating dark data into diagnostic biomarkers”
$750,000 - , medicine
“Metabolomics precision diagnostics and prognostics for chronic inflammatory arthritis”
$750,000 - , biomedical engineering
“BackSCNR: Scoliosis management through noninvasive surface topography”
$750,000
The program advances early-stage health-care innovations to commercial readiness.
- , mechanical engineering
“An intelligent robotic system for minimally supervised data-driven teleassessment and personalized telerehabilitation poststroke”
$566,730 - , computing science
“An Alberta-centred community-tailored implementation of the AVOID real-world intervention for older adults”
$750,000 - , electrical and computer engineering
“Multi-contrast high-speed metabolic and molecular virtual histology on a cart”
$750,000