Aviation monitoring system adapted to assess critical patients

Researchers from the Academic Surgery Unit at University Hospital of South Manchester is collaborating with Lancaster University to develop new technology for healthcare based on an aviation security system designed to give pilots maximum information about the health of their aircraft and advance warning of problems.

Lancaster University Aviation Security expert Professor Garik Makarian is drawing on his years of experience to develop a real-time patient monitoring and risk prediction system, similar to those used by pilots to monitor the safety of their aircraft.

Professor Garik Makarian said: “There are a lot of parallels between flying an aircraft and observing a critically ill patient. Both the surgeon and the pilot are dealing with a lot of information coming from a variety of sensors. They both need to know not only what is happening now but what might happen in the future and safety is absolutely critical.

Dr Stuart Grant, Research Fellow in Surgery, who works on the project, said: “There are vast amounts of clinical data currently collected which is not analysed in any meaningful way. This tool has the potential to identify subtle early signs of complications from real time data. If the aviation technology can be successfully transferred to healthcare it has the potential to provide doctors with information which could improve outcomes for patients.”