IntelliICU - Transforming Critical care at Neonatal ICU in Tirupattur Government Hospital
The neonatal ICU (NICU) is a specialized unit within a hospital dedicated to the care of critically ill or premature newborns. This unit provides intensive monitoring and treatment for infants with serious health conditions, such as respiratory distress, congenital disorders, or low birth weight. The NICU is equipped with advanced medical technology and staffed by experts trained to address the unique needs of these vulnerable patients.
Tirupattur Government Hospital introduced vTitan's IntelliICU, a smart monitoring and automation system to improve patient care and operational efficiency in their Special new born care unit (SNCU). IntelliICU helps enhance real-time monitoring, streamline processes, and ensure accurate data handling, all of which are crucial in a high-stakes environment like the SNCU. This case study describes the implementation of IntelliICU in the SNCU, detailing its goals, strategies, results, and key insights gained throughout the process.
Tirupattur Government Hospital
Tirupattur Government Hospital
Tirupattur Government Hospital is renowned for its comprehensive emergency care services and its broad range of specialized medical treatments. With a capacity of 440 beds, the hospital typically has around 360 beds occupied at any given time. It provides expert care in areas including pediatric emergency care, emergency cardiac treatment, neonatal care, burn management, trauma care from road traffic accidents, and treatment for poisonings and snake bites.
Notably, it is also recognized for having one of the best Special new born care unit (SNCU) in the region, providing advanced and specialized care for critically ill and premature newborns. The hospital handles a high volume of patients, with an average of 2,700 outpatients visiting daily. This high patient turnover reflects the hospital’s crucial role in the community, delivering high-quality emergency and critical care across a broad spectrum of needs.
Challenges In Special new born care unit (SNCU)
Challenges In Special new born care unit (SNCU)
The Special new born care unit (SNCU) faces several critical challenges in managing the care of newborns, particularly preterm infants, who often have unstable and rapidly fluctuating vital signs. This instability requires continuous and precise monitoring of various parameters such as heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, and blood pressure.
Currently, the workflow in the SNCU relies heavily on paper-based systems, where data from multiple devices must be manually gathered, consolidated, and acted upon. Nurses are responsible for collecting data from various monitoring devices, laboratory results, and imaging, and then consolidating this information to present it to specialists and the care team. This process is operationally complex and time-consuming.
The sheer volume of data generated by continuous monitoring can be overwhelming. Integrating and managing this data effectively, while ensuring accurate reflection in health records, adds to the complexity. Additionally, coordinating the information from multiple sources and devices and handling the frequent alarms that signal changes in neonates' status further complicates the workflow.
Overall, the need for an efficient, integrated solution to streamline data management and improve the workflow in the SNCU is essential for delivering high-quality care and ensuring timely, informed decision-making.
Advancing SNCU Care: Deployment of IntelliICU solution
Advancing SNCU Care: Deployment of IntelliICU solution
When Dr. Senthilkumaran M.B.B.S, Dch., Dip., Fm, the esteemed Civil Surgeon and Head of the SNCU met vTitan team, he put forth all these day-to-day challenges in managing the SNCU. Dr. Senthil Kumaran is known for his dedication to enhancing the ICU care,in particular neonatal care, and is enthusiastic about adoption of new technologies in addressing operational gaps and improving patient outcomes. vTitan proposed its IntelliICU platform for monitoring and managing the SNCU environment with special focus on integrating devices from multiple vendors and defining and implementing scoring algorithms for patient wellness.
IntelliICU - Vital Signs Monitoring and Care Management Platform for efficient SNCU
IntelliICU - Vital Signs Monitoring and Care Management Platform for efficient SNCU
IntelliICU is a vitals monitoring and care management platform designed to enhance patience care, improve nurse productivity and to streamline ICU operations. It brings together all critical patient information into one easy-to-use dashboard and helps manage various ICU tasks efficiently. This integrated approach boosts nurse productivity, makes care more effective, and leads to better patient outcomes.
IntelliICU offers seamless integration with various makes and models of patient monitors, ventilators, syringe pumps, and other medical devices, addressing the need for comprehensive ICU monitoring. It continuously tracks patient data in real-time by aggregating information from multiple medical devices. This provides a holistic view of each patient’s condition, integrating vital signs, laboratory results, medication records, and other essential health information in one place. It can generate alerts for any abnormal or critical conditions based on a well-defined rule set. From patient admission into the ICU to patient discharge, it encompasses all the workflows and makes documentation effortless.
Vital Monitoring and Care Management:
IntelliICU enables continuous tracking of patient data, which is crucial in an ICU where conditions can change rapidly. The system monitors vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure in real-time, helping to ensure timely interventions and better management of patient health.
Real-Time Video Monitoring:
A key feature of IntelliICU is its live video capability. This allows healthcare providers to watch patients in real-time using mobile devices, tablets, or PCs. Live video is important because it helps healthcare teams access the patient’s condition holistically, allowing for quick responses and enhancing patient safety.
Early Warning Scoring (EWS) System:
IntelliICU includes an Early Warning Scoring (EWS) system that automatically analyzes patient data. It calculates scores based on vital signs and sets off alerts if something is wrong. This helps doctors and nurses quickly spot and address potential issues, improving patient care.
Workflows and Documentation:
The system simplifies ICU operations by automating tasks and improving documentation. It helps nurses stay organized with reminders for medication, patient assessments, and other duties. By reducing paperwork and manual data entry, IntelliICU ensures that critical tasks are completed on time and that care is delivered efficiently. IntelliICU also facilitates the management of patient ICU admissions and discharges, streamlining these processes and ensuring accurate documentation.
Integration with EHR and HIS:
IntelliICU works smoothly with Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Hospital Information Systems (HIS). This means patient data from different sources is synchronized and easy to access, making it easier for healthcare providers to work together and manage patient care.
Effective Clinical Data Management:
IntelliICU also provides useful data and insights on ICU performance and patient outcomes. This information helps identify areas for improvement and supports better decision-making in the ICU.
Efficient Record-Keeping and Compliance:
The system keeps detailed records of all patient interactions, including doctor’s instructions, nursing activities, and medical reports, with accurate timestamps. This thorough documentation helps with regulatory compliance and makes it easier to review the patient care history if anything is amiss.
IntelliICU enhances ICU management by improving monitoring, simplifying workflows, and integrating with hospital systems, leading to better care for patients and a more efficient ICU.
Enhancing Neonatal Monitoring: Successful Deployment of IntelliICU
at Tirupattur Government Hospital
Enhancing Neonatal Monitoring: Successful Deployment of IntelliICU
Following the discussions at the hospital, vTitan implemented their state-of-the-art monitoring system in the SNCU. Dr. Senthilkumaran played a crucial role in the smooth installation and integration of the IntelliICU system, overseeing the process and ensuring that it met all operational needs. With IntelliICU, all 32 incubators in the SNCU are now equipped with advanced monitoring technology. This system allows for continuous, real-time tracking of critical parameters, including heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, and blood pressure. The new system simplifies data management by centralizing information from multiple devices into a single, unified dashboard.
The implementation aims to enhance neonatal care in the Special Newborn Care Unit at Tirupattur Government Hospital, providing continuous monitoring, automated alert systems, and real-time data analytics for preterm and critically ill newborns.
Planning and Preparation: Conducted a thorough assessment of the existing SNCU infrastructure to identify opportunities for integrating IntelliICU. This included evaluating the current critical care devices and their interfaces, reviewing monitoring systems, care management processes currently followed in the hospital, the Early Warning Scoring system that is required for the neonates, and data management practices. The assessment aimed to understand the specific needs of the SNCU and determine how IntelliICU could address those needs effectively.
Deployment:On the 8th and 9th of March 2024, we successfully installed the IntelliICU platform at the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU). The deployment process involved setting up the complete IntelliICU system with the existing Patient Monitors.
The IntelliICU software application was installed across smartphones, tablets, and PCs to provide healthcare professionals with real-time access to patient data, alerts, and monitoring parameters. High-resolution cameras were integrated to enhance visual monitoring of newborns, allowing for remote observation and more detailed assessments of patient conditions.
In the first phase, the IntelliICU system was seamlessly integrated with the existing Masimo Rad-97 patient monitors using their Iris gateway, ensuring continuous collection and synchronization of vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, and other critical parameters.
The installation was executed over two days, with a focus on minimizing disruption to the SNCU’s operations. The setup was carried out in phases to ensure a smooth transition and effective integration with the hospital's existing infrastructure.
By the end of August 2024, vTitan's Accuflow VE Syringe Pump was successfully integrated into the existing IntelliICU system, further optimizing care delivery and enhancing the unit's overall monitoring and treatment capabilities.
Training and Support: Conducted extensive training sessions for medical and nursing staff to familiarize them with the IntelliICU system. Training covered system operation, data interpretation, and troubleshooting. Furthermore, to ensure long-term success, a dedicated support framework was established, offering continuous technical assistance and addressing any operational challenges that arose during the system's use. This ongoing support helped to ease the transition and maximize the system’s efficiency in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU).
Challenges and Mitigation: A key challenge encountered was the extended time needed for coordination between multiple device vendors during the integration of equipment with IntelliICU. This was mitigated through effective project management, continuous communication with vendors, and ensuring seamless system integration.
Evaluation and Optimization: The performance of the IntelliICU system was rigorously monitored, focusing on key parameters including heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, and fluid input and output. This meticulous evaluation ensured that the system adhered to the expected standards of care and operational efficiency. Feedback was regularly collected from medical staff, and system data was analyzed to identify any areas needing improvement. Based on this feedback and performance insights, necessary adjustments were made to enhance the system's functionality and efficiency. This iterative process refined the system, ensuring it continued to meet the critical needs of the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU).
Since the adoption of IntelliICU, the care management platform has significantly improved the nurses' productivity. The system provided continuous, real-time monitoring of approximately 500 newborns, including preterm and critically ill infants. The consolidation of data into a single, user-friendly dashboard allowed the medical staff to gain a comprehensive view of each patient’s condition, which improved nurse productivity. Alerts for critical conditions, combined with real-time video feeds, ensured timely interventions, even when healthcare professionals were not physically present in the SNCU. This facilitated faster and more accurate clinical decisions, leading to improved patient outcomes.
Photos
Photos
Feedback from Dr. Senthilkumaran, Head of the Special Newborn Care Unit
“We have found the vTitan’s IntelliICU – Intelligent ICU Monitoring System to be an invaluable asset in our Special Newborn Care Unit, especially considering our limited manpower. Over the past 6 months, its deployment has greatly enhanced our ability to continuously monitor critical neonatal patients. The system effectively consolidates all essential parameters, including heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, and blood pressure in a single, easily accessible dashboard. This comprehensive view has significantly improved our medical decision-making process.
One of the most beneficial features is the mobile application, which I have personally downloaded on my Android device. Till date, this application allows for remote monitoring and management, enabling us to supervise approximately 500 newborns, even when being away from the ICU. The ability to prescribe and manage treatments remotely through the app has not only reduced the workload of our nursing staff but has also enabled them to efficiently care for the babies while continuously tracking their progress. This leads to more timely and accurate interventions. The system has been an invaluable asset in our critical neonatal care.”
Future Enhancements of IntelliICU at Tirupattur SNCU
Future Enhancements of IntelliICU at Tirupattur SNCU
The initial phase of integrating the IntelliICU system with the Nihon Kohden Life Scope patient monitor at the Tirupattur SNCU has been successfully completed. This advancement marks a significant enhancement in monitoring capabilities. The full setup will be finalized soon, ensuring seamless connectivity and real-time data synchronization, thereby supporting comprehensive neonatal care.
Building on this success, the next step involves incorporating ventilators into the IntelliICU platform. This enhancement will expand our respiratory monitoring capabilities, allowing real-time tracking of respiratory parameters alongside other vital signs. This integration aims to further improve decision-making and optimize patient outcomes.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The adoption of IntelliICU as an ICU care management platform at Tirupattur Government Hospital underscores its potential for transforming critical care environments. By streamlining ICU operations and improving patient outcomes, IntelliICU demonstrates its significant value, especially in resource-constrained settings. Its automated workflow, live video feed, and comprehensive documentation capabilities make it an ideal solution for smart hospitals seeking to set up a gold standard of care.
IntelliICU’s integration brings automated workflows and live monitoring features that enhance operational efficiency and care quality. The system provides comprehensive audited documentation with detailed timestamps and healthcare provider information, crucial for maintaining high standards of care and regulatory compliance. Adoption of IntelliICU supports adherence to standards such as NABH, setting a benchmark for excellence in smart hospital management and critical care.