Doctors, engineers, scientists, clinicians and ambulance paramedics are working together on a National Instititue for Health Research (NIHR) funded project which could shave off vital time between patient assessment, diagnosis and treatment for those with suspected heart attacks, and give earlier and more accurate warning of those at risk of clinical deterioration.
Lionel Tarassenko, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford and Keith Channon, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford are leading a project in collaboration with the South Central Ambulance service and Physio-Control to test how use of the 3G data transfer can be used to improve the value of emergency monitoring in patients being brought in to hospital with suspected heart attack.
Ambulances have been fitted with 3G data transfer technology so that they can continuously transmit the ECG and vital signs of patients being transported to hospital with a suspected heart attack.
The research will assess how combining the ECG and vital signs data can be used to provide more powerful and up to the minute assessment of clinical status. Transmitting continuous ECG and vital signs data to the hospital will alert clinical staff before the patient’s arrival and optimise initial clinical assessment and triage for emergency treatment.