The biggest ever EBME Expo took place across two days (28th-29th June) this week, attracting high numbers of clinical engineers and other healthcare professionals, to discuss key issues relating to EBME (clinical engineering), operating theatres, and procurement. The event has gone from strength-to-strength and, in recent years, has moved to the larger venue of the Coventry Building Society Arena.
With more expert speakers than ever, the conference programme offered a valuable insight into how we buy, use, maintain and manage healthcare technology – in operating theatres, diagnostic centres, at the hospital bedside, in virtual wards, and in war zones.
The conference sessions tackled key issues around training, human factors, risks around the introduction of new technologies (including AI), the cyber security threats associated with networked medical device technologies, as well as some moving accounts of managing and mobilising vital medical technology in war-torn Ukraine, and in resource-poor countries that are less fortunate than our own.
Mark Fordham, medical equipment training portfolio manager, at Eastwood Park, summed up the importance of the role of clinical engineers, during a presentation on defibrillators and waveforms, with a thought-provoking quote by Eleanor K. Baum: “An engineer is a problem solver. Not only can engineering be used to solve problems, but engineers can work to ‘make the world a better place, improve conditions and improve lives.”
This is especially true in the field of clinical engineering – patients’ lives depend on the expertise and knowledge of those managing vital medical technologies and this was particularly evident in his presentation on the complexities of managing life-saving defibrillator technology.
While the NHS is clearly facing some challenges at present, the event also cast a light on the extreme challenges being faced in other countries – a humbling experience for all those in attendance.
In particular, delegates were captivated by the experiences of Dr. Iryna Rybinka, who left the safety of the UK for the frontline in Ukraine. After working for the NHS for many years, she returned to her home nation to coordinate aid for healthcare workers through the Smart Medical Aid charity. The charity raises funds and procures medical equipment and supplies for hospitals in Ukraine, and provides medical and paramedical training for the doctors, who are working on the frontline.
The audience was visibly moved by her account of how there is an urgent need to replace destroyed ambulances, targeted by Russian forces. She described how ambulances are ‘repainted to avoid identification’ as they are seen as targets. Delegates also felt the poignancy of her opening comments that her first priority on arrival was to mobilise ‘vast quantities of life-saving tourniquets’.
Some of the many take home messages from the event included the increasing role of artificial intelligence in the MedTech sector, but also the vigilance and governance required to reduce unforeseen risks, associated with its use. In diagnostics, for example, AI can be applied to improve image quality, workflow and, eventually, diagnostic accuracy. But as Mark Hitchman, managing director at Canon Medical Systems UK, pointed out, although there are significant advantages, AI for diagnostics can be dangerous and high risk if not monitored for drift in real time. It is currently illegal to let AI in imaging to run autonomously for diagnosis.
The NHS also remains under constant threat of cyber-attack and Chad Holmes, from cyber security firm Cynerio, gave an insight into a recent report: The State of NHS Trust IoT Device Security 2023. The report found:
- 46% of all devices had at least one known risk that was unaddressed.
- 11.7% of devices have at least one critical risk
- 36.7% of devices would see reduced risk with proper network-level micro-segmentation.
While direct attacks on patients are unlikely, patients are impacted when devices go offline. The cost to healthcare providers is also significant. In May 2021, in Ireland, a cyber attack affecting over 40 hospitals cost over 500,000,000 Euros and recovery took five months. Preventative device management is key, he pointed out.
Other topics covered in the conference programme included: the benefits of RFID, the importance of delivering the right levels of technical training, and how HealthTech can help us reach Net Zero, plus many more...
The Clinical Services Journal will be providing in depth coverage of the conference programme in future editions.
