Covid tech enables bedside blood testing

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Christchurch Hospital is starting a new quality improvement project assessing a fast bedside blood test that can show if a patient is having a heart attack.

Christchurch Hospital emergency medical specialist Martin Than says New Zealand is the first country in the world to have access to and test the next generation of bedside blood tests for heart attacks in the Emergency Department.

The bedside test measures a protein in people’s blood that is released from damaged heart muscle when they are having a heart attack and takes around eight minutes to produce a result, compared to one to two hours at a central laboratory.

The project team has been working with the Te Whatu Ora data and digital team to build on connectivity developed during the Covid-19 pandemic to receive and view results from the device.

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“This will mean that people who are assessed for a possible heart attack, but who are not having one, are able to go home much quicker,” Than says.

“And for some people who are having a heart attack we can treat them much more rapidly.

“Around 10 percent of hospital admissions are for chest pain: it’s quite a significant burden on the health system for them to be in hospital when they don’t need to be, so this will make a real difference.”

ESR connectivity that allows clinicians to instantly see a patient’s vaccination status has been further developed to connect the device and the Laboratory Information System.

This then pushes the results into the hospital’s clinical portal, where they can be instantly viewed by a clinician.

“Once we’ve set up the system it can be replicated at other sites. This work with data and digital means we will be able to provide a solution for any device in any location around New Zealand,” explains Than.

The iCare-FASTER project was awarded $1.15 million in funding from the Health Research Council in 2019, but was delayed due to Covid-19.

Everyone who arrives at Christchurch Hospital with a suspected heart attack will now have their blood tested using this device, starting in November.

Than says the initial four-month period will allow them to learn lessons and assess the viability of the project.


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