Royal Melbourne Hospital introduces remote heart device interrogation amid lockdowns

The Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH), a public hospital in Victoria has turned to remote interrogations of cardiac implanted electronic devices (CIED) to continue checking up on patients amid COVID-19 lockdowns.

Remote device interrogation kiosks have been set up at local pharmacies where patients can show up and connect their devices. Data from devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators are then sent to the Cardiology CIED team at RMH for review. 

These device interrogations can take up to five minutes with prompt feedback from RMH cardiologists expected to come soon afterwards. Shannon Watt, RMH's chief cardiac physiologist, shared that since deploying the technology, their colleagues from other states have inquired about their latest care model. 

"I think we feel that this has a real potential to change the model of care, not just for our institution, but for others," she said.

Mater adopts Philips' virtual COVID-19 care at home solution

Catholic non-profit healthcare provider Mater has employed a virtual care tool to treat COVID-19 patients at home.

The Queensland-based provider partnered with Philips to implement QuestManager. They first have to triage patients to determine if they are capable of receiving care at home. 

Eligible patients will then receive daily text messages or emails with a link to a survey that they can fill out from a mobile phone. This provides Mater's Hospital in the Home team with clinical information to keep track of their conditions. Patients requiring blood oxygen tracking are also given pulse oximeters for self-measurement. 

In a media release, Mater said they have adopted QuestManager to help free up hospital resources and ease the pressure on their already overworked staff. 

"The way the software is configured, it has been designed to support potentially tens of thousands of patients which will help alleviate the pressure on the healthcare system," said Jayne Barclay, director for digital health and informatics at Mater. 

Allowing COVID-19-positive patients to receive care at home will also minimise community transmission during an ongoing outbreak caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant, added Fiona Hinchliffe, Mater's executive director for residential care and community services.

"As we continue to respond to COVID-19, it is critical Mater provides a high standard of care through this digital experience, not constrained by geographic boundaries," Mater's Chief Digital Officer Alastair Sharman also said.

Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital upgrades radiotherapy system

The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH), one of the largest cancer treatment providers in Queensland, has upgraded its radiation therapy system to include a high-quality imaging solution and an AI-driven treatment delivery function.

The provider has chosen California-based Accuray's Radixact Systems to replace its TomoTherapy Systems – also from the same developer – as it sees an uptick in the number of patients diagnosed with cancer at their hospital. In 2019 alone, RBWH attended to over 150,000 cancer patients.

It picked the Radixact Systems with two added features: ClearRT, a helical CT imaging solution that generates high-quality CT images, and Synchrony, a real-time motion synchronisation technology. Together, this radiotherapy system will provide versatility to RBWH clinicians in treating various types of tumours and indications, as well as the precision and accuracy in delivering treatment.

"The Radixact System is a workhorse radiotherapy device capable of efficiently and effectively treating the routine cases seen daily, as well as the most difficult cases when needed," Accuray President Suzanne Winter said, describing their technology.