Welcome to our latest news in brief, where we take a closer look at some of the health tech news to have caught our eye over the last few weeks.
360° virtual tour expanded to “full hospital map” at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has expanded its 360° virtual tour to introduce 52 new videos, avatars of staff and young people, and improved signage to hep users navigate the site more easily.
313,585 square feet of the trust’s campus has now been mapped, also covering other areas of interest such as the Catkin Centre and Innovation Hub. Users are able to walk through these spaces, “as if they were there”, from the comfort of their own home. More than 17,000 people are said to have accessed the tour to date.
“By mapping newer areas and expanding our 360° virtual map, we’re allowing families to see more of Alder Hey before they arrive, helping them understand where they’re going and what to expect,” chief nurse Nathan Askew said. “We know from the positive feedback from the initial virtual map that this helps to reduce anxiety and improve the overall experience.”
10,000th robotic surgery milestone at North Bristol NHS Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust is celebrating the completion of its 10,000th robotic-assisted surgical procedure at its Southmead Hospital, a robotic surgery centre covering urology, colorectal, gynaecology, and upper GI procedures.
The trust shares that the achievement “represents a decade of innovation, better outcomes and increased surgical capacity for patients across Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and beyond”.
AI-assisted echocardiography in Cheshire and Merseyside
A six-month pilot undertaken by the Cheshire and Merseyside Physiological Science Network has seen the introduction of AI-assisted echocardiography at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
During the pilot, scans were reviewed by senior clinicians to ensure patient safety and allow a comparison of performance and outcomes with standard practice.
According to Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, so far ten patients have benefited from the new approach, with the board now looking at the potential to roll the technology out further across the region, to help improve access to cardiac diagnostics and reduce waiting times from referral to test.
Your Health App Finder library helps improve access to trusted health apps in Sussex and beyond
NHS organisations in Sussex have partnered with ORCHA to publish a microsite dedicated to helping people find and access trusted health apps.
Your Health App Finder lists independently reviewed health and care apps across categories including mental health, long-term conditions, healthy lifestyle, and parent support. It also gives apps a score out of 100 for data usage, professional assurance, usability, and accessibility.
The microsite is free to access, supporting Sussex’s wider vision around digital inclusion and accessible health and care.
Early outcomes from remote monitoring programme and RPA for musculoskeletal patients in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
Board papers from Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust have shared achievements from the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Care Group, outlining that 520 patients have been processed using robotic process automation deployed for musculoskeletal services, and that the system is “performing reliably and integrated into workflows”.
The group also highlights the rollout of its heart failure Florence community-based remote monitoring programme to support early intervention and self-management. The initiative includes a digital symptom checking tool allowing patients to report green/amber/red status via text message, to be followed-up where deterioration is indicated.
“Early outcomes from 103 referrals show strong engagement, improved quality of life, greater confidence in self-management, and benefits across physical and psychological health, medicines optimisation, and appropriate referral,” the group reports.
