Advancing Healthcare: digital ‘Blua’ hospital and AI transformations in medical radiology
Source：Expansion財經報,La Vanguardia報紙網站, Sanitas企業網站,CIO網站
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Barcelona
Update Time：2024/07/11
Revolutionary developments in healthcare highlight the transformative impact of digital technologies as exemplified in two significant events held respectively in Madrid and Barcelona in May 2024.
Digital Blua Hospital – Precision and Personalized Medicine in the Digital Era
The Future Health event was organized by Sanitas – one of the leading Spanish medical assurance companies - with the aim to explain the evolution that the health system will experience in the upcoming years, the challenges it will face along with the tools that will be available, as well as the effects that these changes will have at the global scale.
As stated by the Spanish newspaper “Expansión”, we find ourselves on the path towards a more precise, personalized, preventice, predictive and participatory medicine which is the way to have longer, more healthy and happier lives. With this objective in mind, Sanitas is about to launch the Digital Blua Hospital in Madrid which will be open during the first quarter of 2025 as stated by Mr. Iñaki Peralta, the CEO of Sanitas and Bupa Europe & Latin America (ELA) during the event. It will be a general hospital with all the specialties as well as with niches for research and which will combine all the existing digital capacities with the best treatments, technologies and in-person techniques.
In order to look for a more precise medicine and health system, Sanitas studies, investigates, selects and implements digital improvements in order to anticipate the health necessities of the patients and offer appropriate solutions. As stated by Ms. Ine Snater, the Director of Transformation and Strategy at Sanitas and Bupa Europe & Latin America (ELA), the digital health ecosystem of Sanitas, named Blua, is a fundamental ally in order to facilitate and improve the people’s healthcare. Ms. Snater mentioned that the Digital Blua Hospital will increase their digital health offer due to new capacities that will complement and expand the services offered at a conventional hospital. Some of the services that the digital hospital will provide include digital check-up, measurement of vital signs, digital physiotherapy, 24-hour video consultation, home medical visits, personalized health plans, management of appointments in dental centers or monitoring of the elderly.
The Digital Blua Hospital will be able to combine the in-person with the digital medical tools thus allowing Sanitas to provide the best healthcare to the biggest number of people, as stated by Peralta.
AI in Medical Radiology: Transforming Diagnostic Imaging
On the other hand, the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology “Seram” Congress took place in Barcelona with AI being the main topic discussed among the 2,400 participants. According to an article published in the Spanish newspaper “La Vanguardia”, 80% of medical diagnoses are realized through an image. The introduction of the Artificial Intelligent (AI) involves the application of algorithms and learning techniques in order to make the medical test, interpret radiological images and acquire those images with the best quality and the least time possible.
Currently, the application of AI for the diagnoses by image covers bone fractures; bone and soft tissue tumors on CAT scan and magnetic resonance scanning images; helps in the early detection of arthritis and articular diseases; as well as the evaluation of the protheses’ situation. One of the companies present in the congress was Incepto - a French-origin company that makes an AI platform specialized in medical imaging available to hospital centers - and its director in Spain and Portugal stated that in the upcoming 5-10 years the AI will be massively used for diagnoses due to its efficiency. He stated that all the Spanish hospitals will make use of it due to the lack of radiologists and the benefits that this technology brings.
Despite the advantages offered by AI, its implementation in the medical sector has in doubt the extension until which the doctors will be essential. Nonetheless, Mr. Josep Munuera - scientific manager of Seram and director of radiodiagnoses at the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona - explained during the congress that some studies affirm that the radiologist will not disappear, but rather the radiologist who does not use AI will do so.
Source: https://www.expansion.com/especiales/2024/06/11/66675893468aebc9678b4595.html; https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20240525/9675123/radiologos-auguran-revolucion-ia-eficacia-diagnostico.html