University Hospitals First in the World to Integrate New General Electric Healthcare Imaging System into Daily Clinical Practice

CLEVELAND – University Hospitals is the global pioneer in full clinical adoption of GE Healthcare’s (GEHC) new Critical Care Suite 2.0¹, the world’s first on-device artificial intelligence (AI) program helping to assess endotracheal tube (ETT) placement. Fast and accurate ETT placement improves care for all patients needing this crucial intervention, including those suffering from COVID-19. During the pandemic, up to 15 percent of COVID-19 patients require intensive care surveillance and intubation for ventilatory support.

Nationwide, as many as one in four intubations results in mispositioned ET tubes. Unrecognized mispositions can lead to complications including collapsed lung, hyperinflated lung, and cardiac arrest. Radiologists at UH Cleveland Medical Center read dozens of images every day. This process takes several hours.

GEHC’s Critical Care Suite 2.0 addresses these problems. Its software acts as artificial intelligence, aiding in the placement of ET tubes and also recognizing if a patient has a critical finding like a collapsed lung. It flags the image for immediate reading, helping set the patient on a rapid path to treatment. The unit is also mobile, traveling directly to patients.

“In several COVID-19 patient cases, the pneumothorax AI algorithm has proved prophetic. It has accurately identified collapsed lungs in intubated COVID-19 patients, flagging the image to radiologists and radiology residents, and enabling expedited patient treatment,” said Amit Gupta, MD, Modality Director, Diagnostic Radiography at University Hospitals. “Altogether, this technology is a game changer, helping us operate more efficiently as a practice, without compromising diagnostic precision.”

UH began evaluating Critical Care Suite 2.0 in February 2021 by assessing workflow and performance and independently gauging the sensitivity of the algorithm used to detect critical findings. In early March 2021, UH became the first hospital in the world to integrate Critical Care Suite 2.0 into daily clinical practice.

“UH’s evaluation and implementation of Critical Care Suite 2.0 represents a close working relationship between GEHC and University Hospitals that spans two decades,” said Robert “Chip” Gilkeson, MD, Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Center and Vice Chairman of Research at University Hospitals. “Employing this equipment means better care for our patients.”

“Our goal at UH is to provide the most advanced, high-quality care and as such we continuously look to improve upon our processes to help us deliver on this objective,” said Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals. “Mispositioned ET tubes could cause harm and this AI solution is enhancing the care of our critically ill patients, creating a potentially safer, more effective treatment pathway.”

In daily clinical practice, Critical Care Suite 2.0 is helping in assessment of approximately 150 ETT placements per week at UH Cleveland Medical Center. Critical Care Suite 2.0 is now supporting COVID and non-COVID patient care as it travels to intensive care units within the hospital.

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About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 20 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located in Cleveland’s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Ohio’s only hospital for women; University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, a high-volume national referral center for complex cardiovascular procedures; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women’s health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute, part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 28,000 physicians and employees. Advancing the Science of Health and the Art of Compassion is UH’s vision for benefitting its patients into the future, and the organization’s unwavering mission is To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.

¹510(k) pending. Distributed in accordance with FDA imaging guidance regarding COVID19 public health emergency