What problems are you trying to solve?
Without close monitoring and active patient engagement in post-discharge or quarantine scenarios, patients could face risks of delayed recovery or unnoticed development, resulting in readmissions to the hospital and extra costs of financial and care resources.
This project aims to alleviate these problems by providing a smart telehealth solution that not only enables patients to be monitored and engaged remotely but also empowers the care team to realize the continuous care model with streamlined integration, fast deployment, cost-effective management, and return on investment.
Why is the problem critically chosen?
National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) Yunlin Branch* has been looking for a more efficient and scalable way to provide remote patient care to post-discharge as well as COVID-19 patients by leveraging innovative technologies such as Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), cloud computing, and 5G connectivity. For patients with critical diseases such as congestive heart failure, pulmonary failure, or myocardial infarction, discharging from hospitals requires close monitoring. Discharge without appropriate care may lead to delayed recovery or re-admission. In addition, COVID-19 patients are also required to self-monitoring to prevent unnoticed development and even sudden death from silent hypoxia. NTUH Yunlin Branch hopes to efficiently and effectively connect the patients with the care circle, including the responsible care team and family members with the support of a smart telehealth platform over 5G to ensure post-discharge recovery and expedited return to normal life.
* NTUH-Yunlin Branch: https://www.ylh.gov.tw/english/
What technologies are applied to solve the problem?
- Flexible networking integration including 4G and 5G
- Private, secure and scalable cloud computing for medical big data analysis, real-time remote monitoring, and professional consultation
- Integration of medically proven sensors and equipment in the form of a telehealth care pack*, including
- Blood Pressure Meter
- Glucose Monitor
- Heart Rate Meter
- Thermometer
- ECG monitoring device
- SpO2 Meter
- Breathing Peak Flow Meter
- Body Weight Scale
*Devices provided are adjustable as required by project needs.
Any particular areas of improvement?
Reinforcing self-monitoring and active engagement while operating with limited care resource is the most critical challenge for successful remote patient care outcomes. QOCA home* utilizes fully personalized care plans with user-friendly reminders and guidance through daily measurements and questionnaires with easy-to-use wireless IoMT sensors to automatically synchronize to the cloud for real-time analysis. Non-compliance or abnormal conditions are immediately raised to the care team who can timely engage with the patient through built-in video communication that requires no separate setup or learning.
Furthermore, QOCA home backend service resides on a private cloud that ensures data privacy while enabling integration with Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) in addition to providing a native care management portal for the care team to manage, monitor, and analyze patient conditions with minimum staff resource.
All of the above can mean significant improvements for the continuous care model for both post-discharge outpatients and quarantined patients (such as COVID-19).
* QOCA home: http://www.qoca.net/product.php?id=1
What have you learned and how would the technology advancement potentially or practically help?
By leveraging a smart telehealth solution that seamlessly integrates the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), cloud computing, and 5G connectivity, healthcare service providers are able to extend their services to reach people at home, in isolation, or in remote areas with minimum additional staff. Quanta believes that telehealth service solutions have a wide range of application scenarios; for example, such a service can be used to assist chronic care for elderlies at home or in care facilities of various forms. It could be also deployed as a remote care extension in non-medical settings, such as those in COVID-19 quarantines at their homes.
Technology at Work
This Technology is from
