New UZ Brussel high-tech ambulance in service for inter-hospital transport
6 June 2023
A premature baby requiring urgent transport to a specialist neonatal intensive care unit. A 60-year-old suffering a sudden stroke in need of neurosurgical intervention. With the new high-tech ambulance at UZ Brussel, the university hospital of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, a specialised team of doctors, nurses and drivers accompanies patients from one hospital to another with the support of a specialist physician, possibly remotely. To do this, they use innovative tools and telemedicine in a modular ambulance that can be tailored to the specific needs of patients from 300 g to 300 kg. The ambulance, developed with several partners, is the first of its kind in Europe.
From tomorrow, Wednesday 7 June, the new ambulance will travel between UZ Brussel and hospitals in the rest of the country, from Liège to Roeselare, carrying patients with serious conditions such as heart attacks, stroke and sepsis.
Built to suit patient and doctor
The ambulance is unique and was custom designed and built for the UZ Brussel, with several partners. The goal is to provide the best, most advanced care possible to every patient, including outside UZ Brussel during transport to and from other hospitals.
Some important characteristics:
- The vehicle has space for seven seats in addition to the stretcher, to accommodate the most specialised teams with varying areas of expertise.
- On the chassis is a container to which modular elements can be added during transport, or the arrangement adjusted, to best meet the needs of patients and medics. A premature baby, a sick child, a 60-year-old requiring neurosurgery after a stroke, or a 300 kg patient needing complex care each require a different approach and environment.
- All equipment needed for the various disciplines – neonatology, cardiology, neurosurgery, paediatric intensive care, etc – are ergonomically fitted and arranged so they can be secured during transport. These include clearly visible monitoring, efficiently mounted ventilation equipment and easily accessible infusion pumps. Medical gases are placed in a sliding cabinet beneath the vehicle for safety and space-saving reasons. These are usually placed inside the ambulance, leaving less space inside.
- The ambulance has a sterile appearance and inside looks like a room in an intensive care unit or a small operating theatre.
This environment – like being in hospital, but in the ambulance – allows patients to be transported from one hospital to another by specially trained drivers who combine comfort, safety and appropriate speed throughout for the optimum journey.
High-tech environment with remote monitoring
The medical transport team are in direct contact with the hospitals via a Proximus 5G connection for monitoring patients during transfer. By using cameras and headsets for all occupants, including the patient, and augmented reality (AR) glasses, medics outside the hospital literally have a view of the situation inside. The AR glasses provide audio-visual support to the transport team, and in the future may provide live support for common acute situations, such as complex medication calculations and timing during resuscitations.
Anne-Sophie Lotgering, Enterprise Market Lead of Proximus: “The 5G connected ambulance provides an innovative way to connect patients, ambulance workers and remote medical experts in real time. This use case shows how different technologies (5G, IoT, AR) can be brought together and create a powerful impact in supporting healthcare professionals and improving patient care in all ambulance care. We are very proud to put our technological solutions at the service of the care providers of the UZ Brussel, allowing them to help their patients faster and more efficiently.”
Highly trained team ensures best care
The specialist transport team ensures safe and efficient transfer, while maintaining the same level of care as in Intensive Care or an environment such as the operating theatre.
The team received four months of theoretical and practical training on the fundamentals of inter-hospital transport. It’s not only the diverse groups of patients – from the very youngest to the very oldest – with their individual needs that make this specific training necessary. The complexity of the effects of road transport on such vulnerable, critically ill patients requires in-depth knowledge. An example is the transport of a patient connected to a heart-lung machine.
Ives Hubloue, VUB professor of emergency medicine and head of the Emergency Department at UZ Brussel: “High-quality, efficient and innovative inter-hospital transport for our patients is the result of our existing expertise and continued commitment to advanced specialised training in emergency medicine at VUB, with industry. It aligns with our policy to offer excellent basic care as well as to continue to innovate and deploy new high-tech resources. As a university hospital, high-quality education and research are central. We consider the specific knowledge needed for inter-hospital transport to be a subdiscipline within emergency medicine.”
Photos: VUB
Karolien De Prez
About Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university in Brussels, the heart of Europe. By providing excellent research and education on a human scale, VUB wants to make an active and committed contribution to a better society.
The World Needs You
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel assumes its scientific and social responsibility with love and decisiveness. That’s why VUB launched the platform De Wereld Heeft Je Nodig – The World Needs You, which brings together ideas, actions and projects based on six Ps. The first P stands for People, because that’s what it’s all about: giving people equal opportunities, prosperity, welfare, respect. Peace is about fighting injustice, big and small, in the world. Prosperity combats poverty and inequality. Planet stands for actions on biodiversity, climate, air quality, animal rights... With Partnership, VUB is looking for joint actions to make the world a better place. The sixth and last P is for Poincaré, the French philosopher Henri Poincaré, from whom VUB derives its motto that thinking should submit to nothing except the facts themselves. VUB is an ‘urban engaged university’, strongly anchored in Brussels and Europe and working according to the principles of free research.
www.vub.be/dewereldheeftjenodig
About Proximus
Proximus Group (Euronext Brussels: PROX) is a provider of digital services, communication and ICT solutions operating in the Belgian and international markets. Our purpose, ‘Boldly building a connected world that people trust so society blooms’, is our guiding star in delivering delightful communication and entertainment experiences for residential consumers and in enabling next generation digital innovations tailored to businesses.
Proximus aims to build the #1 gigabit network for Belgium, combined with technology assets that enable digital ecosystems, while fostering an engaging culture and empowering ways of working. These exceptional strengths pave the way to deliver long-term value for stakeholders; they allow Proximus to contribute to an inclusive and sustainable digital society, delight customers with an unrivalled experience and achieve profitable growth both locally and internationally.
In Belgium, Proximus’ core products and services are offered under the Proximus, Mobile Vikings and Scarlet brands. The Group is also active in Luxembourg, under the brand names Tango and Telindus Luxembourg, and in the Netherlands through Telindus Netherlands. The Group’s international carrier activities are managed by BICS, a leading international communications enabler, one of the key global voice carriers and the leading provider of mobile data services worldwide. With Telesign, the Group also encompasses a fast-growing leader in authentication and digital identity services, serving the world’s largest internet brands, digital champions and cloud native businesses.
With 11,634 employees, imbued with Proximus' think possible mindset and all engaged to offer a superior customer experience, the Group realized an underlying Group revenue of EUR 5,909 million end-2022.
For more information, visit www.proximus.com & www.proximus.be.