Intelligent Network for Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Using technology to deliver equal access to life-saving ultrasound imaging.
Project Overview
Updated March 31, 2023.
The Problem
Ultrasound is a key clinical tool in the healthcare system. It helps provide an early diagnosis for many medical conditions, from urgent heart conditions to the progress of a pregnancy.
Unfortunately, access to the life-saving diagnoses made possible with ultrasound is limited by the availability of machines and the ability to analyze their results. In British Columbia, for example, only 5 per cent of physicians are trained to interpret scans. As a result, up to 40 per cent of patients are unable to access specialized diagnostic tests or face long wait times.
This is driving the efforts of the Intelligent Network for Point-of-Care Ultrasound consortium, led by Providence Health Care in partnership with Change Healthcare, Clarius Mobile Health, the University of British Columbia and the Rural Coordination Centre of BC.
How We Are Solving It
The Result
This project combined portable ultrasound devices, imaging technology, and machine learning to enable physicians to make accurate diagnoses. The project leveraged Clarius Mobile Health’s portable ultrasound technology into a legacy of highly integrated and functional PoCUS social networks accessible to B.C. and Canada’s broader healthcare workforce, so far consisting of 90 devices in remote, rural and Indigenous communities throughout B.C. It has provided critical interventions in the care of rural residents, such as a patient of a midwife on Salt Spring Island, B.C. and resident of Haida Gwaii, B.C.
The solution allowed rural physician users to leverage clinical expertise via telemedicine to lower barriers for safe and effective ultrasound usage and adoption. The project demonstrated the equalizing access to diagnostic testing in rural and remote communities at a minimal cost, as well as the potential to eliminate some avoidable patient transfers, keeping patients close to home while saving significant money to individuals and the healthcare system. It also created a unique data library of point-of-care echocardiography and obstetrics ultrasound. Leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) research will be able to continue to use this library to build AI solutions to provide scalable real-time support for users.