CLASH OF CULTURES THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO DEVICE-IT CONVERGENCE, EXPERTS SAY
As information technology (IT) becomes integral in medical device design, clinical and IT specialists need better communication during the earliest stages of device development, experts said at a recent audioconference hosted by healthcare research group ECRI.
Over the past five to 10 years, many medical devices have evolved to the point where they are operated essentially as "special purpose computers," said Stephen Grimes, director of clinical engineering at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
These devices are increasingly being deployed beyond hospital walls, Grimes said at the Nov. 15 event. In this evolving healthcare universe, "diagnostic and therapeutic systems talk to each other."
For example, in "closed-loop systems," outputs from heart rate monitors or pulse oximeters can affect inputs on infusion pumps and modify the delivery of a sedative, Grimes said. Such technological advances are removing the need for clinicians to make decisions on dosing, "because all of that intelligence is built into the technology."
Devices that are part of this trend include physiological and vital sign monitors, electrocardiographs, ventilators, blood gas analyzers and "smart beds." The use of surgical videos, diagnostic cardiac ultrasound and endoscopic devices is also becoming more common.