Intelligent Ultrasound's
NeedleTrainer and ScanNav Anatomy Peripheral Nerve Block now part
of NHS Scotland anaesthetist training program
PRESS RELEASE 29 February 2024:
Intelligent Ultrasound Group plc (AIM: IUG), the 'classroom to
clinic' ultrasound company specialising in AI software and
simulation, is pleased to announce NHS Education for Scotland (NES)
has incorporated the company's NeedleTrainer and ScanNav Anatomy
Peripheral Nerve Block (PNB) in its anaesthesia training
program.
Intelligent Ultrasound's Classroom
to Clinic package is designed to meet the two key challenges of
ultrasound guided regional anaesthesia (UGRA): capturing and
interpreting ultrasound images and inserting the needle to deposit
local anaesthetic at a target site. The risks of poorly performed
UGRA and ultrasound-guided needle insertion are well documented,
including damage to nerves that can lead to chronic pain, loss of
sensation and muscle weakness. Poor identification of structures on
ultrasound can lead to needle trauma to blood vessels, the lung,
bowel and kidney.
NeedleTrainer uses a retractable
needle and virtual image overlays to simulate needling
non-invasively on a live participant, using an authentic live
ultrasound scan. This enables trainees to develop hand-eye
coordination, optimum positioning, and accuracy in
ultrasound-guided interventional procedures in a realistic clinical
environment with minimal risk.
ScanNav Anatomy PNB produces a
colour overlay on real-time ultrasound to support scanning for
UGRA. A recent study published in the British Journal of
Anaesthesia showed that availability of ScanNav Anatomy PNB was
associated with an increase in the number of blocks performed by
anesthesiologists, without a decrease in quality of
care.
As a teaching package, this provides
increased efficiency, whereby education can be carried out in a
cost-effective and scalable manner, with enhanced educational
outcomes. The platforms will be used at the School of Medicine,
University of St Andrews where Dr Alasdair Taylor and co-director
Dr James Bowness will use NeedleTrainer as part of their two-day
Regional Anaesthesia: Plan A
Blocks course.
NES joins its counterpart body in
Wales (Health
Education and Improvement Wales), which invested
in Intelligent Ultrasound platforms to help meet curriculum changes
and provide more safe, effective learning opportunities in
ultrasound-guided interventional procedures.
Stuart Gall, Chief Executive Officer of Intelligent
Ultrasound: "Ultrasound-guided
needle insertion is now a key competency requirement for multiple
specialties. This investment moves us closer to our vision of
transforming medical training, ensuring safer practices, and
ultimately enhancing patient care. Together, we are bridging the
gap from classroom to clinic with innovative solutions that empower
medical professionals across Scotland and beyond."
Dr
Ed Mellanby, Simulation Associate Postgraduate Dean for Scotland,
said: "It is a huge challenge to
consistently meet the requirements of training in regional
anaesthesia in a safe and reliable way across all trainees in
Scotland. We are developing a national approach to simulation
training in Scotland, with the aim of sharing resources and
expertise across the country in order to improve quality and
equitability of access. This technology aligns with that ambition
and with both patient and curriculum requirements. I am really
excited to see how this can reduce the variability in practice and
training, and witness the positive impact on performance that we
believe this will produce."
Dr
Alasdair Taylor, Consultant Anaesthetist, Ninewells Hospital,
Dundee, said: "As a team, we want to
increase the delivery of safe and efficacious ultrasound guided
regional anaesthesia to patients in Scotland as the potential
benefits are well known. When performed well, patients benefit from
reduced morbidity, improved pain scores, and a reduced opiate
requirement and the consequent side effects. Organisations can
benefit from greater theatre efficiency, and shorter length and
cost of inpatient stay. Also, with the long-term aim of performing
more awake regional anaesthesia, we can achieve a reduced carbon
footprint for surgical procedures."
ENDS
Enquiries:
Intelligent Ultrasound Group plc
|
www.intelligentultrasound.com
|
Stuart Gall, CEO
|
Tel: +44
(0)29 2075 6534
|
Helen Jones, CFO
|
|
|
|
Cavendish Capital Markets Limited
(Nominated advisor and broker)
|
|
Giles Balleny (Corporate
Finance)
Nigel Birks (ECM)
Dale Bellis (Sales)
|
Tel: +44
(0)20 7397 8900
|
|
|
TB Cardew - PR Advisors
Ed Orlebar
|
Intelligentultrasound@tbcardew.com
Tel:
+44 (0)7738 724630
|
Allison Connolly
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Tel: +44
(0)7587 453955
|
Emma Pascoe-Watson
|
Tel: +44
(0)7774 620415
|
Jessica Pilling
|
Tel: +44
(0)7918 584573
|
|
| |
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About Intelligent Ultrasound
Group
Intelligent Ultrasound (AIM:
IUG) is one of the world's leading 'classroom to clinic' ultrasound
companies, specialising in real-time hi-fidelity virtual reality
simulation for the ultrasound training market ('classroom') and
artificial intelligence-based clinical image analysis software
tools for the diagnostic medical ultrasound market ('clinic').
Based in Cardiff in
the UK and Atlanta in the US, the Group has two
revenue streams:
Simulation
Real-time hi-fidelity ultrasound
education and training through simulation. Our main products
are the ScanTrainer obstetrics and gynaecology training
simulator, the HeartWorks echocardiography training
simulator, the BodyWorks Eve Point of Care and
Emergency Medicine training simulator with Covid-19 module and the
new BabyWorks Neonate and Paediatric training simulator. To
date over 1,700 simulators have been sold
to over 800 medical institutions around the
world.
Clinical AI software
Deep learning-based algorithms to
make ultrasound machines smarter and more accessible using our
proprietary ScanNav ultrasound image
analysis technology. Current products on the market utilising this
technology are GE
HealthCare's SonoLyst software that is incorporated in their
Voluson Expert and SWIFT ultrasound machines; ScanNav Anatomy PNB
that simplifies ultrasound-guided needling by providing the user
with real-time AI-based anatomy highlighting for a range of
medical procedures; and NeedleTrainer that teaches real-time
ultrasound-guided needling and incorporates ScanNav Anatomy
PNB.
www.intelligentultrasound.com
NOTE: ScanNav Anatomy PNB is CE
approved and cleared for sale in the US by the FDA but is not
available for sale in any other territory requiring government
approval for this type of product.