ViMUT Hospital advances healthcare with groundbreaking technologies

Its progressive healthcare ecosystem ensures the highest quality treatment and precision in patient care.

Patients who have been in a car accident or have fallen and sustained an injury around their hip area are required to get an X-ray to detect a proximal femur fracture. The safest technique for such injuries with limited movement is the Hip Lateral Cross-Table.

This method involves placing the patient on their back with the injured hip closest to the X-ray free detector, at around 20 to 45 degrees to the patient and perpendicular to the X-ray beam, held by radiologic technologists. The unaffected leg is then bent at the knee and rests on a support, and the affected leg is in line with the body.

However, this conventional method often results in grid cutoff, which occurs when the primary X-ray beams are absorbed by grid strips, preventing the useful X-rays from reaching the detector. This is usually caused by the misalignment of the detector and the beam or incorrect patient positioning, resulting in an unqualified X-ray image and necessitating additional shots.

Such a situation has led radiologic technologists at private hospital ViMUT Hospital to develop a new positioning technique for the Hip Lateral Cross-Table procedure to enhance the X-ray image quality for the proximal femur.

This innovation aims to decrease the repeat rate of such X-ray shots from an average of 60%, which is what the hospital has recorded from January to April 2023, to less than 8%, following the global standard TG151. This is also expected to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure to patients.

The first prototype reduced repeated X-ray shots by 25%, but still exceeded the standard. The team then developed a second prototype, which proved to be an effective technique for producing clear X-ray images.

This involved adjusting the position of the patient and the alignment of the X-ray detector and beam. The patient is placed on a foam pad with their injured hip closest to the steady X-ray wall stand detector, whilst their unaffected leg is bent at the knee and resting on a support.

The detector and its beam are set to be perpendicular for optimal imaging quality. The technique has been shown to result in clear X-ray images without any grid cutoff issues. As a result, the technique has reduced the X-rays repeating rate down from 60% to 4%, exceeding the set target. At the same time, radiation exposure to the patient has been reduced by 93%, and the process has been streamlined by 50%.

ViMUT Hospital remains committed to providing advanced medical technology for precise diagnosis and treatment. “Our team of radiologic technologists is dedicated to improving the Hip Lateral Cross-Table technique and sharing our innovation with hospitals across the country, Asia, and the world,” it said.

The company’s stellar innovation in developing a new way to improve X-ray imaging has been honoured with the Thailand Technology Excellence Awards in the Emerging Technology - Healthcare category. 

Enabling online ecosystem for holistic patient care

ViMUT Hospital has also prioritised a comprehensive approach to client care with its transition from a conventional offline physical service to an online ecosystem platform, known as the ViMUT Application. The platform caters to the requirements of patients before, during, and after their visit, with integrations with its external wellness partners.

ViMUT Application has been meticulously designed to deliver an end-to-end customer experience by allowing individuals to seek medical advice from world-renowned physicians through its telemedicine platform from any location worldwide, encompassing a comprehensive consultation and medication delivery service available 24 hours a day.

It is equipped with encryption capability to facilitate client registration of personal information and direct linkage with insurance companies. Subsequently, it is integrated with the hospital's information systems for streamlined insurance claims processing. Its pre-registration features also ensure that clients are directed to the appropriate department.

At the same time, the innovation now enables patients to track their progress at any stage of the journey and receive prompt payment notifications without the need to wait. The app also provides details of medication prescriptions and medicine reminders, assisting patients in adhering to their treatment plans.

ViMUT Application has been downloaded over 77,000 times, and its features have been used almost 150,000 times. Over 52% of 148,000 patients are currently on the app, with around 4,000 active users a month. 63% of app users also have access to their medical records, including radiology and blood results analysis, aided by artificial intelligence.

As it transitions into a new era, the app has continuously expanded to encompass preventative care, emphasising mental and physical well-being through additional features and an online marketplace.

“We are committed to offering holistic services that go beyond traditional healthcare, as evidenced by a continuously improving patient satisfaction rate of over 90% for three consecutive years, and can stand out as one of the leading hospitals in Thailand. This commitment ensures that our patients receive exceptional care from anywhere in the world,” the company said.

The app’s capability in delivering an end-to-end customer experience and harnessing cutting-edge technologies has led ViMUT Hospital to achieve the Thailand Technology Excellence Award in the Mobile - Healthcare Technology category in the same prestigious awards programme.

Now in its fourth edition, the Asian Technology Excellence Awards is the region’s premier awards programme that celebrates top technological innovators and solutions that are redefining industries and leading the charge in digital transformation.