How can we improve care for patients at the ICU with smart technology and better interoperability of different medical devices? ‘AI will not replace medical staff, but it can help to enhance their capabilities and focus on more important tasks’, says Michael Wilkening, keynote speaker at the upcoming symposium: Interoperability and Smart Alarms for Remote Patient Monitoring.
Intensive care units (ICUs) are highly technical environments, filled with numerous devices that monitor patients’ vital signs, support their organs, and deliver medications, fluids, and nutrients. These devices are equipped with multiple alarms that sound when issues are detected. However, the frequency of these alarms makes it increasingly difficult for ICU staff to discern which ones require immediate attention and which can be safely ignored.
‘More than 700 alarms occur on average per day on one ICU bed. And over 80 percent of all alarms are clinically irrelevant while 50 percent are not even noticed,’ says Michael Wilkening, Strategy and Business Development for Medical Technology at Dräger. This overwhelming number of alarms can lead to ‘alarm fatigue,’ where staff become desensitized to them. And for patients, the constant noise hinders their ability to rest and recover.
‘This enables pioneering applications for clinical practice, such as AI-based clinical decision support’
The goal of the SASICU (Smart and Silent ICU) project is to use smart technologies to reduce the frequency of alarms in the ICU and to help staff more easily identify patients at risk of deterioration.
Interoperability of medical devices
To achieve this, it is crucial that different medical devices and IT systems communicate and exchange data effectively. ‘Currently, three-quarters of medical devices around the ICU bed are not connected to the hospital IT system,’ says Wilkening. ‘The interoperability of all these devices is poor. It is like trying to connect iPhone and Android.’
The project utilizes the service-oriented device connectivity (SDC) standard (ISO/IEEE 11073 SDC), which enhances interoperability between different medical devices and IT systems. Wilkening states, ‘This system architecture allows data from various devices and systems to be centrally collected and analyzed.’
Using AI to improve patient care
At the moment, four different studies are exploring how this system architecture can make ICUs quieter and improve patient care. Wilkening: ‘One study investigates how alarms can be directed to the appropriate staff member via so-called confirmed Alarm Distribution Systems, while the audible alarms remain suppressed at the patient’s bedside. A second study will evaluate how algorithms could identify unnecessary alarms that could be delayed, reprioritized, or even eliminated without compromising patient safety.’
Two other studies focus on how AI can be used to identify patterns in the data to early detect the onset of certain issues, for example, post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). Currently, there is no method to predict which patients will develop PICS, a combination of physical, psychological, and cognitive symptoms that some patients experience after ICU discharge. ‘Early identification and appropriate management of PICS could improve patient outcomes,’ says Wilkening.
The fourth study examines heart-lung interactions and aims to develop algorithms capable of detecting certain syndromes and negative developments in patients’ conditions. This could help create a decision support system for clinicians.
According to Wilkening, the ‘Smart and Silent ICU’ project highlights the importance of international standards like SDC for the secure exchange and use of data between different medical devices and IT systems. ‘This enables pioneering applications for clinical practice, such as AI-based clinical decision support.’ He stresses that the role of smart systems is not to replace people. ‘AI will not replace medical staff, but it can help to enhance their capabilities and focus on more important tasks.’
Want to know more? Join the symposium
At the symposium: Interoperability and Smart Alarms for Remote Patient Monitoring, Michael Wilkening will give a keynote speech on interoperability in medical device ecosystems and how this could help improve acute care. You can register here.