The innovations in medicine are amazing – don’t be surprised if one day a t-shirt will help save your life

Head of the Department of Medical Physics of the National Cancer Institute dr. Jonas Venius talks about the new method of patient monitoring implemented during quarantine: “Active use of the mobile phone by the patient is a passive collection of data about their physical and emotional state. This includes monitoring the patient’s mobility, movement activity, duration or nature of the activity, as well as evaluating the mental and emotional health of the patient by evaluating the patient’s use of the Internet, social networks, SMS or calls. “

According to J. Venius, such passive data collection provides a large amount of high-resolution data stream, but does not require any input from the patient. Furthermore, it was possible to complete questionnaires about their condition remotely. This not only reduced the number of contact meetings, but also significantly improved the quality of monitoring the patient’s condition: the patient can complete the questionnaires at their convenience, without haste, in the home environment. Meanwhile, a routine visit collects only instantaneous information and patients sometimes find it difficult to recall symptoms experienced within weeks or months.

Vilnius University Hospital Doctor Santara Clinics Prof. Algirdas E. Tamošiūnas says that the usual virtual medical advice that became common during the quarantine will probably also be practiced in the future, because it effectively saves time for doctors. “This pandemic really forced me to learn very well and effectively, without having to travel long distances, because our hospital is really huge, to organize meetings remotely,” says the doctor from the Santara clinics.

Antrina and Darius Steponkus, director of the Klaipėda Republican Hospital: “We have got rid of many fears that used to be, and we thought about how it was possible to work without using additional functionalities that make life easier for us.”

Telemedicine in radiology: a breakthrough for sharing experiences

And what other new technologies are Lithuanian doctors already using? Artūras Čivašovas, a radiologist at the Republican Hospital Klaipėda, says that teleradiology is a particularly significant opportunity, because a large part of the work of doctors in this field, the evaluation of images, is not directly related to the patient and has the technical team necessary. I have to work remotely. They do a large part of the work, without them I cannot imagine my daily work and that we investigate as much as we do now. “

According to Chivashov, actual communication between the doctor and the patient is still important, but teleradiology, properly combined with the doctor’s work under real conditions, provides opportunities to work more productively and perform what would be difficult under normal conditions.

Head of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology of the National Cancer Institute dr. Jurgita Ušinskienė also talks about a modern possibility in the field of ultrasound: “Robotic automated breast ultrasound has long been used for preventive breast exploration. The device is controlled by a radiology technician and remotely evaluated by a physician. Such a device is also in Lithuania ”. However, according to the doctor, so far modern technologies have not been able to replace radiology technologists; the investigation is still carried out only by contact.

T-shirts that inform about vital functions are no longer a utopia, but a reality of today

The director of the Republican Hospital in Klaipeda speaks of a scenario that may become a daily practice in the near future: But the information would have to spread somewhere, even to the ambulance service, and there the doctors would get in the car to fly to a person who may not yet feel that his rhythm is altered, but who is already approaching when he feels threatening.

According to the doctor, in case of sudden death, when a person simply walks and collapses, before that the body sends certain signals that cannot be felt, but there are already devices that can detect it. If we can create a system that transfers data directly to medical institutions, it will save the lives of those who do not even feel threatened yet.

AE Tamošiūnas, a physician at the Santara Clinics, realizes that these devices have been around for about a decade and can be found in a wide variety of forms, from watches to leggings, T-shirts or bracelets. However, the widespread use of these options is still hampered by the lack of a common standard and the problem of data reliability: to provide accurate information, users must not only ensure proper contact of the sensor with the body, but also unified data recording and transmission systems.

Devices that record human vital functions already exist in medicine. According to NPP Tamošiūnas, it would be the most reliable solution for potentially elderly people who have difficulty using external recording devices, which could be implemented in the future.

The 5G connection will allow the development of artificial intelligence capabilities

5G connection, according to the Santara clinics radiologist prof. NPP Tamošiūnas, in the future will allow to quickly and efficiently combine artificial intelligence solutions in medicine and radiology: “Theoretically, we could operationally integrate artificial intelligence solutions. If we now do a simple X-ray, a CT scan or an MRI and get hundreds or even thousands of images, then artificial intelligence with a 5G connection instead of those images can immediately offer a solution to a family doctor or ambulance. No more images, but diagnosis. It’s called radiomics. “

According to the doctor, in cases where a particularly fast response is required, artificial intelligence will be able to offer possible solutions in a matter of seconds, while analyzing and evaluating radiological images with human effort takes much more time.

Responsible for the Polyclinic IMI Consulting dr. Rasa Vansevičiūtė-Petkevičienė emphasizes the importance of a smooth Internet connection in medicine. “With a high-quality connection, the systems currently in use run smoothly, the necessary medical records can be received and sent, electronic prescriptions can be issued, radiological imaging images can be transmitted, and doctor-doctor consultations can be made to obtain conclusions of more experienced colleagues about treatment tactics and their urgency, ”says the doctor.

The main advantage of the 5G connection, according to doctors, is the ability to transfer and process data much faster. What is a 5G connection? This is the transfer of large amounts of data, a faster data transfer. And all the processes are related to this: how fast data can be collected, how fast it is transmitted and analyzed. All technological development is based on that. Therefore, it is necessary, ”says Mindaugas Kundrotas, deputy director of the Republican Hospital in Klaipėda.

Artificial intelligence is already gaining ground in medicine: “Digital mobile X-ray machines with artificial intelligence programs, computerized tomography with artificial intelligence, AiCE image reconstruction algorithm, which improves image quality and reduces patient exposure “, – NVI Diagnost Head of the Radiology Department dr. Jurgita Ušinskienė.