Intermountain makes strides in precision medicine, advanced imaging
Intermountain HealthCare is making strides on two critical fronts in healthcare: precision genomics and advanced imaging technology.
The Salt-Lake City-based health system announced Thursday the Intermountain Precision Genomics service would offer genomic sequencing of solid tumors, a new genomic test for cancer. An adjunct to the ICG100 Comprehensive Cancer panel, which tests 162 genes, the ICG100 ONCO Focus Panel requires less DNA.
This next-generation sequencing test performs genomic analysis on five genes. According to Intermountain, the test can provide valuable analysis and clinical utility for stage IV cancer patients when only a small tissue sample is available.
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“This abbreviated panel allows us to look for specific mutations frequently found in melanoma, lung and colon cancers, Intermountain Precision Genomics Core Laboratory Manager David Loughmiller, said in a statement. The ICG10 ONCO Focus allows scientists to concentrate on these very specific mutations that we know are actionable.”
Intermountain also announced it would apply Tissue Analytics’ advanced imaging technology, integrated with its Cerner’s EHR system, across all of its hospitals, wound clinics and home care group. Tissue Analytics develops advanced imaging algorithms designed to help clinicians measure and track wound healing.
Most wound measurement is performed with a ruler and visual approximation, with error rates that exceed 45 percent. That kind of inaccuracy can hinder the ability of clinicians to assess patient progress and communicate data to other clinicians. Tissue Analytics is designed to automatically derive wound healing rates using photographs collected from mobile technology.
Intermountain Healthcare’s decision to integrate Tissue Analytics into its Cerner solution came after a successful pilot program, which led to a 16-week, larger-scale pilot that involved all of Intermountain’s wound care clinics and Intermountain Homecare.
“The proof of concept and pilot collaboration helped us work with Cerner and Tissue Analytics to shape the product and integration in a way that clinicians would find productive and effective,” said Todd Dunn, innovation director at Intermountain.
The work concluded in a SMART on FHIR-based integration with Cerner core technology. With the addition of Tissue Analytics, Intermountain Healthcare, now has the ability to share accurate data about a patient’s wound between the inpatient, clinic, and homecare settings.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
