Technology in Healthcare

11.11 Identify methods and types of data collected in

healthcare.
Databases
Electronic collection of information
Stored and sorted by fields (such as name,
address, date of service, etc.)
Examples:
◦ Medical office – patient information database
◦ Hospital central supply – vendor database
◦ Pharmacy – prescription database
Scheduling
Speciallydesigned software used to
schedule patients for visits.
Financial Records
What type of program would most likely be
used for financial record management?
Used to perform mathematical functions.
Communication
How are
computers used
for
communication in
a healthcare
setting?
Patient Monitoring
Oxygen levels
Heart rhythms
Fetal monitor
Blood pressure
Many uses in healthcare
Diagnostic Tests
Medical laboratory
◦ Computers used for blood and urine analysis
Electrocardiogram

Stresstest
Others
Diagnostic Imaging
MRI – Magnetic Resonance
Imaging
This is a large magnet

A computer translates the

scanned information into cross-
sectional images of the body
Diagnostic Imaging
CT Scan – Computerized tomography
First computer-based body and brain scanner
Thin, cross-sectional x-rays that produce a 3-D
image
Diagnostic Imaging
Ultrasonography
Sounds waves bounce off body structures,
computer catches them and makes an image
What is this?
Telemedicine
Use of video and
computer systems for
interactive healthcare services
in different locations.
For example, rural doctors in
poor countries can
communicate with specialists
in medical centers across the
globe.
Medical Robotics
 There are many Next time you visit a hospital, don't
different uses for be surprised if a small robot passes
you in the hallway on its way to pick
medical robotics. up or deliver patient samples.
RoboCourier is a self-navigating
utility robot designed to remove the
grunt work of distributing and
collecting patient samples through a
hospital. This removes the burden of
the tedious and menial task of
pushing a medical cart around, which
is currently performed by trained
medical personnel, a scarce and
valuable resource.

Photo courtesy of CCS Robotics

Medical Robotics
The da Vinci Surgical system
◦ A patient-side robotic cart with 4 arms manipulated by the
surgeon and a high-definition 3D vision system.
◦ Articulating surgical instruments are mounted on the robotic
arms.
◦ The surgeon’s hand movements are filtered to eliminate hand
tremor and then translated into micro-movements of the
instruments.
◦ The camera used in the system provides a true picture for the
surgeon to see his/her work.
◦ The da Vinci System is FDA cleared for a variety of surgical
procedures including surgery for prostate cancer,
hysterectomy and mitral valve repair.
Bioinformatics
Used extensively in
biotechnology, bioinformatics
uses computers to organize
biological data in databases.
The Human Genome project
was managed using
bioinformatics.
The FDA uses bioinformatics
in pharmaceutical research.
Summary – Healthcare Data
Patient information
Pharmacy records
Hospital and facility supplies/purchasing
Scheduling
Financial records
Patient medical data monitoring
Diagnostic test data
Bioinformatics
And more….
Conclusion
What is “telerobics”?
What do you think about the future of
technology in healthcare?
What do you think are the biggest
challenges to the use of technology in
health care?