March 11, 2015 — Trice Imaging Inc. and Samsung Electronics announced that the two companies have been nominated for the 20th Global Mobile Awards by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA). Samsung and Trice Imaging are nominated in two categories: the “Best Mobile Innovation for Health” and “Best Use of Mobile in Emergency or Humanitarian Situations” for the project “Mobile Acute Care.”
In a trial performed in three emergency medical services (EMS) fire departments in the Dallas/Fort Worth region in Texas, more than 50 paramedics were successfully trained for the use of a mobile-connected ultrasound system when handling trauma patients, patients with chest and abdominal pain and heart attack victims. This enables paramedics to help assess a patient who is still at home, at the scene of an accident or in transit in the ambulance. The trial involved six ambulatory vehicles connected to four hospitals.
Paramedics are using Samsung’s PT60A point-of-care ultrasound devices connected to Trice’s image sharing and collaboration service so images can be transmitted to EMS departments and hospitals directly from the ultrasound device in the ambulance. The image data files are sent via the mobile network through Trice’s Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) encryption application installed on a Samsung tablet straight to the smartphone of the physician on duty. This information allows the physician to provide specific instructions to the paramedics regarding the in-hospital destination for the patient and to properly prepare hospital staff for the arrival of the patient.
Saving time in an acute situation means potentially saving lives. For example, in the case of cardiac arrest where a patient presents pulseless electrical activity (PEA), pre-hospital ultrasound has helped the medics to determine whether or not to continue resuscitation efforts. The patient can then be transported to an appropriate facility and preparations made for their immediate treatment. In some cases, this has meant the difference between life and death.
For more information: www.triceimaging.com