Cardiac catheterization and vascular ultrasounds are typically safe medical procedures performed to diagnose or treat certain heart conditions, such as arterial narrowing. With catheterization, doctors can inject contrast dye through a blood vessel to the heart and perform tests such as angiograms to diagnose and operate on the heart as the problem is identified. Conversely, vascular ultrasounds use sound waves to identify problems in a less invasive way.
Despite being common and safe, there are risks involved in both procedures which can require intervention, necessitating communication with a patient’s family members to explain complex issues or obtain informed consent for medical intervention.
To address this, the Hsin-Chu Branch of National Taiwan University Hospital sought a way to efficiently communicate with the family members of patients using an interactive intercom solution from AREC Inc., powered by AAEON’s SRG-APL IoT Gateway System. The wider aim of this project was to reduce delays to surgical intervention and mitigate the risks associated with doctors having to leave and re-enter the cardiac catheterization laboratory to discuss the procedure with the patient’s family.
The Challenges
All surgeries require a sterile atmosphere, which can be compromised when a doctor needs to leave the laboratory to discuss treatment options with a patient’s family. Typically, this involves the removal of the doctor’s surgical attire, following which he will go to a waiting or reception room to discuss the procedure with the family face-to-face.
To resume the procedure, the doctor would then need to scrub back in and follow strict hygiene precautions. This poses two challenges, the first being the time involved, and the second being the increased risk of infection that comes with exiting and re-entering the cardiac catheterization laboratory.