Medical Connex, a ``running hospital'' in the disaster area

On November 9, 2021, Siemens Healthcare Co., Ltd. delivered the first unit of the advanced mobility solution "Medical-ConneX" to the medical corporation Hakuhokai Tokyo Hikifune Hospital. bottom.

Medical Connex consists of two vehicles: one for testing, which is equipped with laboratory testing and diagnostic imaging equipment, and the other for power supply, which is equipped not only with power supply but also with IT systems and goods storage.・It will be possible to provide prompt and highly accurate life-saving emergency medical care at sites of natural disasters such as typhoons and man-made disasters such as accidents and terrorism.

For the first time in the world, the inspection vehicle is equipped with a CT device, an immunobiochemical analysis device, and an ultrasound device simultaneously, and the vehicle widening function makes it possible to secure an effective workspace. Power supply vehicles include generators, refrigerators for injectable drugs and pharmaceuticals, constant temperature chambers for storing reagents, storage of items such as controlled drugs, image data generated by inspection vehicles, sample test data, etc. It is equipped with an integrated medical information management system that centrally manages medical information, and AI image analysis software that supports quick and accurate image diagnosis even in the absence of an image diagnosis specialist. .

In conjunction with this announcement, a joint press conference by the Hakuhokai Group and Siemens Healthcare Co., Ltd. and a tour of the actual vehicle were held in Tokyo. At the joint press conference, Mr. Hideaki Mori, President and CEO of Siemens Healthcare Co., Ltd., first took the stage and talked about the partnership with the Hakuhokai Group and his thoughts on the development of Medical Connex.

Aiming for a future where people can live with peace of mind

According to Mr. Mori, Siemens Healthcare K.K. Since then, various activities centered on disaster medicine and exchange of ideas have been carried out.

Currently, various disasters are still occurring, and the corona crisis is still far from converging worldwide. He said that Medical Connex incorporates the desire to aim for a future where people can live with peace of mind by receiving and connecting the knowledge of medical professionals around the world.

Wouldn't the trailer-truck type clinic increase the survival rate?

Next, Mr. Motohisa Furushiro, Chairman of Hakuhokai Group, took the podium. He talked about the efforts of the Hakuhokai Group.

Hakuhokai Group is a medical and nursing care group that operates 10 hospitals and 60 facilities. It is deployed in Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo and 8 districts. He has also participated in many disaster sites such as the 2006 Niigata Chuetsu Earthquake, the 2008 Akihabara Raider Incident, and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Based on the experience of these disaster activities, I thought that if a certain level of image diagnosis and biochemical testing could be performed in disaster areas where medical functions were impaired, the survival rate would increase. It plans to introduce a model clinic and its power supply car, and has started discussions with Siemens Healthcare Co., Ltd.

Next, Mr. Yasuhiro Yamamoto, Director of Tokyo Hikifune Hospital, Medical Corporation Hakuhokai, took the podium. He talked about the future of Medical Connex.

First of all, the greatest advantage of Medical Connex is that unlike hospital ships, it can be dispatched anywhere as long as there is a ferry. In the future, he believes that the best way to handle medical management in the event of a disaster is to use Medical Connex.

He also mentioned the idea of ​​'Homespital'. Homespital is a coined word created from home and hospital, and as the name suggests, it refers to an intermediate facility between home and hospital. For example, if the hotel were to be a Homespital, it would be possible to accommodate intermediate clinical patients with mild and moderate COVID-19 infections, and if Medical Connections were installed in the parking lot in front of the hotel, the hotel would have the functions of a sick bed and a hospital. can let And when the number of patients decreases after a certain period of time, it is possible to immediately return to the original hotel business. It was a proposal that if we could develop a solution using Medical Connex like this, it would be easier to respond when medical care is in a tight situation.

Solving global issues with advanced medical care, mobility, and IT

Next, Mr. Shinji Yamamoto, Alliance Business Promotion Division, Siemens Healthcare Co., Ltd., took the stage and explained the whole picture of Medical Connex.

The development of Medical Connex began with Mr. Yamamoto, Director of Hikifune Hospital, who said that an advanced mobile vehicle with high mobility was needed to provide initial treatment for trauma in emergency and disaster medical care immediately after a disaster. However, there were three technical problems.

The first question is whether the immuno/biochemical analyzer can be installed in the vehicle. The second is how to solve the situation where a CT device is installed in a narrow vehicle and there is no specialist in image diagnosis. The third is whether it can be compactly installed in the same vehicle.

However, most of the high-performance and compact diagnostic imaging equipment and laboratory testing equipment that can solve these problems can be handled by the equipment released by Siemens Healthcare, and IT-related systems such as PCs for image processing can be handled. Some of the facilities, such as refrigerators, are made by other companies. Regarding the problem of specialists in image diagnosis, by using a dedicated internet line, it is possible to use remote image diagnosis, etc., so it can be handled without a specialist on site.

Medical Connex' solutions can be used in a variety of applications, including disaster medical care such as natural disasters, medical activities in remote areas, fever outpatients such as infectious disease countermeasures, and medical examinations such as health checkups. In other words, "advanced medical care x mobility x IT" is a project that solves problems not only in Japan but also in the world.