13 minute read
Smart Hospital Beds
Innovative applications for more accurate care
Smart hospital beds are among the most important elements in patient rooms within all kinds of medical facilities given the specifications they provide that contribute to raising the efficiency of medical personnel on the one hand, and facilitating the patient’s movement on the other hand. The manufacturing companies have worked to combine state-of-the-art technology with the medical sector’s requirements and have come up with beds designed according to innovative applications in order for the patient to receive more accurate care.
Today, the manufacturing companies provide wireless smart beds that include a device that is directly connected to the nursing department, enabling the nurses to follow up on the patient's condition, monitor his vital functions, and track his condition remotely, but closely, taking into account the times of patient rounds, caring for them and having direct communication with them. Smart beds save a great deal of effort in hospitals through monitoring technologies and remote sensors. These beds have contributed to a qualitative addition to the smart hospitals' course of action.
The smart beds are designed to facilitate the patient’s movement and help him regain his normal movement faster, with the presence of monitoring systems that alert the nursing staff when the patient moves and leaves the bed with the availability of side rails. Sensors can also monitor the health of the elderly, and other wireless devices can encourage the user to lead a healthy life, such as wearable heart monitors.
This type of advanced bed greatly contributes to restoring the patient's wellness, health and activity as it is the main element to achieve this purpose, according to studies that con-
firmed that the patient’s movement during his stay in ICU contributes to his speedy recovery and early discharge from hospital.
Healthcare providers also benefit from the presence of smart beds as they spare them the trouble of changing the patient’s position from time to time and help reduce the injuries they are exposed to because the bed technology keeps the patient in an optimal position during bed movement, thus helping the medical staff and healthcare providers to perform their tasks to the fullest, which in turn contributed to reducing medical errors in hospitals.
Technology in the world of hospital beds has become more sophisticated today than ever before; the smart bed is able to monitor the patient’s vital signs with the presence of sensors that monitor his movement on the bed and when getting out of it.
This bed delivers information directly to health care providers, whether the treating physician or the nursing department, via the Internet or through remote sensing and control devices (wirelessly). This bed delivers information directly to healthcare providers, whether the treating physician or the nursing department, via the Internet or through remote sensors and control devices (wirelessly).
Today, hospital beds are an integral part of the hospital infrastructure in general and the patient’s room in particular. The bed on which the patient lies throughout his hospital stay, greatly contributes to enhancing the healing process, enabling the doctor to monitor the patient’s condition accurately, allowing him to provide the appropriate treatment while making the patient feel comfortable during his stay.
In this context, we must talk about the increasing demand for smart beds globally in light of the increased spending on healthcare and the accompanying technological development in light of the transformation of hospitals into smart ones, making them have a greater need to make a qualitative shift in patient care and provide them with comfort. This helps support the work of medical staff, saving time and effort, while maintaining the quality of medical service and patient care.
MD, FACOG – American board-certified Obstetrics and Gynecology/Advanced Pelvic and Endoscopic Surgery - CMC Dubai Dr. Elias Abi Khalil
The Center of Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery at the Woman’s clinic CMC-Dubai offers excellence in care for women with the latest minimally invasive options. ‘Hospitals’ magazine met with Dr. Elias Abi Khalil, MD, FACOG – American board-certified Obstetrics and Gynecology/ Advanced Pelvic and Endoscopic Surgery at CMC Dubai.
Can you brief us about the Center of Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery- at the Woman’s clinic CMC Dubai?
We are a team of endoscopic surgeons offering excellence in care for women with conditions needing advanced gynecologic surgery. We provide comprehensive care for women with conditions including: uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pain, endometriosis, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, tubal and ovarian cysts – offering the latest minimally invasive options for these conditions. We strive to provide a safer and more effective alternative to traditional open surgery by performing the vast majority of our procedures via robotic surgery, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and vaginal surgery. We get referrals from other providers for complicated cases that would otherwise be performed via a large abdominal incision. We are leaders in developing innovative minimally invasive procedures that offer our patients faster recovery, less pain, smaller incisions, early return to normal daily activities and shorter hospital stay. We would also like to shed light on the Woman’s Health Clinic as well.
At the Woman’s Health Clinic-CMC Dubai, women’s health is our priority. We treat complex gynecological and pregnancy problems and provide women with regular preventive care during annual gynecological visits, screening tests for diseases and keeping women healthy through their life cycle.
In addition, patients receive education and awareness about disease symptoms, preventive measures and different treatment options. Our physician specialists offer a wide array of services including: Pregnancy Care, Midwifery Care, Maternal-fetal Medicine, General Gynecology, Minimally Invasive Gynecological Surgery, Urogynecology, Sexual Health, Cosmetic Gynecology, IVF, egg freezing.
Uterine diseases are common during women’s life, whether with cancer or any other benign diseases. What are the most common uterine problems?
The uterus is often affected by conditions that can affect women’s daily life. Signs of uterine disease could be heavy menstrual bleeding, spotting, severe pelvic and menstrual pain, abnormal discharge, menstrual pain, chronic pelvic pain, pelvic pressure, urinary leakage or incontinence. These can be caused by endometriosis, fibroids, adenomyosis, endometrial hyperplasia, polyps or gynecologic cancers. Diagnosing these conditions can be challenging sometimes and that’s why they need expertise in the field.
Endometriosis is a challenging condition that can manifest as pelvic pain, infertility. It affects women throughout their lives and can have a significant effect on their daily life. DiagWE ARE LEADERS IN DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE MINIMALLY INVASIVE PROCEDURES THAT OFFER OUR PATIENTS FASTER RECOVERY, LESS PAIN, SMALLER INCISIONS, EARLY RETURN TO NORMAL DAILY ACTIVITIES AND SHORTER HOSPITAL STAY.
nosing and treating this condition is crucial for the improvement in women’s quality of life.
Chronic pelvic pain is debilitating for many women and can affect their quality of life. We manage refractory cases by finding the reason behind the pain and tailor treatment accordingly. We carry out complex endometriosis surgery for deeply infiltrative and advanced cases of endometriosis using our robotic and laparoscopic platforms. Rectal, bladder and ureteral endometriosis is a common manifestation of the disease that we treat endoscopically in conjunction with our expert general and urologic surgeons.
Fibroid management depends on many factors including age, desire for fertility and symptoms you are experiencing. Our consultants will guide you formulate a plan of action tailored to your own case. We perform fibroid and uterine surgery for advanced cases with multiple large fibroids using minimally invasive techniques like robotic, laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery. We make sure surgeries are done with minimal incisions in the safest way possible.
Do you offer treatment for pelvic organ prolapse, urinary leakage and cosmetic surgery?
Our experts in pelvic reconstructive surgery are here to help women with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence. They are highly trained in the reconstruction of the pelvis using robotic, laparoscopic and vaginal surgery. They also focus on sexual dysfunction, where women can benefit from the latest customized treatments, including pelvic floor stimulators and laser therapy. They bring as well the latest techniques in cosmetic gynecologic surgery including labiaplasty, vaginoplasty, hoodectomy, etc.
What about the latest developments in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of reproductive health diseases?
We offer the newest technology in diagnostic testing ranging from gynecologic and obstetrics ultrasounds, saline infusion hysterogram, hysterosalpingography, 3D and 4D ultrasounds, office hysteroscopy, etc.
Gynecologic cancers are a big burden on women’s health. Screening is crucial for early diagnosis and treatment. Many of these cancers have very effective screening methods like cervical and breast cancers and can be detected early. Cervical cancer is related to a sexually transmitted virus. Patients can protect themselves by getting vaccinated. The recommended age group for vaccination is between 9 and 45 years of age. We can also detect it early by doing a pap smear. Breast cancer is very common affecting 1 in 8 women. We offer the appropriate screening schedule tailored to each patient depending on her lifetime risk and we can detect early changes in the breast. We strive to provide a safer and more effective alternative to traditional open surgery by performing the vast majority of our procedures via robotic surgery, laparoscopy, hysteroscopy and vaginal surgery.
To what extent early detection and yearly check-up can avoid women complications?
Yearly check-ups are crucial to early diagnosis and treatment of all diseases affecting women’s health. It is a comprehensive check that includes gynecologic and general health checks.
It includes the following: • Clinical gynecologic exam to screen for pelvic pain, sexual dysfunction, heavy bleeding, and many other benign diseases . • Age and risk-based recommendation for ovarian and breast cancer screening • Clinical breast exam for prevention of breast cancer. • Pelvic ultrasound looking for a benign and malignant disease that affects the uterus and ovaries. • Pap test and HPV for prevention of cervical cancer. • Age-based screening recommendations for non-gynecologic diseases that affect women depending on their age. OUR EXPERTS IN PELVIC RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY ARE HERE TO HELP WOMEN WITH PELVIC ORGAN PROLAPSE AND URINARY INCONTINENCE. THEY ARE HIGHLY TRAINED IN THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PELVIS USING ROBOTIC, LAPAROSCOPIC AND VAGINAL SURGERY. THEY ALSO FOCUS ON SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION, WHERE WOMEN CAN BENEFIT FROM THE LATEST CUSTOMIZED TREATMENTS, INCLUDING PELVIC FLOOR STIMULATORS AND LASER THERAPY.
INNOVATION IN PEDIATRIC UROLOGY: TREATING BLADDER EXSTROPHY AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
MD, Chief of Urology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital V. Rama Jayanthi
Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals and research institutes in the United States. It is consistently ranked as one of America’s top 10 children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, the recognized authority in United States hospital rankings. V. Rama Jayanthi, MD, leads the Department of Urology, which is also regarded as one of the top programs of its kind in the country. "Hospitals" magazine recently interviewed Dr. Jayanthi about Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s approach to a rare and complicated condition, bladder exstrophy.
What is bladder exstrophy?
Bladder exstrophy is a congenital condition, or birth defect, where a child is born with a bladder that is malformed and is sticking through the abdomen – that is, the bladder is exposed outside of the body. The bladder does not function correctly, so children with exstrophy are incontinent. There may also be future issues with the reproductive and other body systems as well. Exstrophy is very rare. Many surgeons can go years without seeing a single case. It’s important that the urology team treating a child with bladder exstrophy has the appropriate training and experience.
How is bladder exstrophy treated?
The condition is ideally treated with surgery to close the bladder soon after birth, but most children have one or more additional procedures as they grow. Those are often designed to make children continent or have some control over the way urine is removed from the body, because their bladders likely will never be able to function normally. Boys with exstrophy also need surgery to create a urethra that goes to the end of the penis. The outcomes of these surgeries have a huge impact on a child’s everyday life and on the lives of their family members.
What makes your approach different?
The Urology team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has a crucial focus on our patients’ quality of life. Worldwide, many children undergo a surgical procedure in which the appendix is connected to the bladder and the abdomen. The child then catheterizes him/herself every few hours to remove urine, so their underwear and clothes remain dry.
This is a common option and works well, but means patients have to catheterize every few hours for the rest of their lives.
We have developed a modified procedure allowing urine to be diverted to the rectum so that it can exit the body that way. Those children can then use the bathroom and do not need to catheterize. For those children and their families, this can be life-changing since their day-to-day routine is relatively “normal”. In our experience, urinary tract infections and other complications that can be a risk with other procedures have not been as great with our modified procedure. I should also say because there are so few cases of bladder exstrophy, to begin with, we do not have long-term evidence that would allow us to say this approach is definitely better than any other one. We do feel it has advantages for some people, though, and the families who have chosen this approach are quite pleased with the outcome. The procedure is not necessarily appropriate for every child, but it has been a successful option for our patients in recent years.
How have patients and families responded?
Families who have children with bladder exstrophy have often done a lot of their own research because they want the best possible outcome. They connect with other families online to learn about their experiences. And they are most often going to find that the typical ways of correcting bladder exstrophy are the only options they have. We offer another option, which may be helpful for some. In our most recent experience, a family who lives far away from our hospital sought us out for this different option, because they knew the way it could positively affect their child and their own lives. Their child has had no infections and is able to go to the bathroom like a “normal” child. It has had a big, beneficial impact on them.
Why is Nationwide Children’s Hospital leading in this area?
One of the most important reasons is our desire to collaborate – both inside our institution and outside of it. Inside our hospital, we realize that children with some severe forms of exstrophy will need treatment from multiple surgeons: urologists, colorectal specialists and gynecologists. Through our Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction, we bring together those and many other experts so that children can have their medical issues addressed holistically.
We also have helped create a consortium of large hospitals, the Pediatric Urology Midwest Alliance, which allows us to learn from each other. That’s especially helpful in developing expertise with rare conditions like bladder exstrophy and in conducting research on those conditions. WE MAY NOT SEE MANY BLADDER EXSTROPHY CASES INDIVIDUALLY IN A YEAR, BUT TOGETHER, THE ALLIANCE HAS TREATED A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF ALL EXSTROPHY CASES IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1980. WE BRING THAT KNOWLEDGE TO THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES WE SERVE.
