Saturday, 3 March 2018

Exelus Creates Nomadeec, An Interesting Interactive HoloLens Telemedicine Platform (Interview)

Flashback into the Google Glass craze of 2013. Individuals were vying to acquire an invitation on the “Glass Explorers” listing to be able to purchase the prototype that would bring us one step closer to actualizing the scenes from the film Minority Report of Tom Cruise interacting using a holographic personal projection facing him.  

Exelus is a French MedTech firm that has been growing Nomadeec, a HoloLens telemedicine program, for the past few years which resembles the Minority Report system.   Exelus’s telemedicine platform is one of the closest, most impressive presentations of a mixed-reality technology I’ve seen for medical/healthcare use. Having had the chance to view numerous Microsoft Hololens demos at different conferences, and to chat with Microsoft Hololens programmers, it’s been fascinating to track the applications developed to date and also to experience the Exelus’s Nomadeec app demonstration at this year’s CES conference in Las Vegas.  

With the recent explosion of digital reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) from the technology universe, these terms, as well as that of “mixed reality” (MR) may get a bit confusing, especially as the differentiation between AR and MR may get a little fuzzy. The easy breakdown is as follows. Virtual reality drives the user in a completely artificial computer-simulated environment, augmented reality overlays virtual objects on the real-world environment, and mixed reality takes things one step further and not just overlays, but also simplifies virtual objects into the actual world.

The most advanced VR experiences provide freedom of movement, and users can use special hand-held controllers to boost VR experiences (believe Oculus Rift or HTC Vive with controllers). In AR, users may see and interact with the real world while digital content is superimposed onto the real-world environment (believe Pokémon Move). MR can begin with either the real world or digital universe, whereas either an individual stays from the real-world environment while digital content is added into it, and also an individual is fully immersed in the digital environment while the actual universe is blocked out.

Nomadeec is a exciting Hololens mixed-reality application which does not only showcases the potentials of MR in medicine and health care, but also a supplies a proof-of-concept demonstration that these AR headset technology can really be utilised in practical real world field applications. Co-founded by means of an emergency medicine doctor, Dr. Louis Rouxel, along with engineer/UX specialist, Xavier Maurin, Exelus has created a telemedicine platform that is an integrated, joined, and also mobile alternative for clinical evaluation conducted by field professionals. For the first time, EMTs and paramedics can effortlessly react hands-free to incidents with the capability to diagnose and socialize remotely with hand gestures along with the onboard capacities of the HoloLens hardware and software.

When you shoot up the Nomadeec application after donning the HoloLens, a patient’s electronic health record (EHR) could be accessed. The EHR data is displayed in multiple thoughtfully categorized windows, as you’d see on a monitor. Using established hand gestures from the HoloLens, the user can then place and re-position these windows spatially from the actual world about them (from the skies above, next to you, supporting you, etc..) and click on between records from various dates. Telemedicine involves almost connecting you with a doctor miles off who diagnoses a patient also oversees treatment in real-time. Nomadeec utilizes the HoloLens to feed data to a remotely located doctor through video, and this doctor (also sporting a HoloLens) is then able to provide directions via video conversation, voice, or holographic markers generated that can be observed by both users.

To offer some context, let’s envision a paramedic out from the field working with an obscure animal bite that they have never seen before. Utilizing Nomadeec, this paramedic can join with a doctor possessing the essential experience who will demonstrate the paramedic how to care for the wound by providing visual cues after taking a peek at the individual in a real-time video feed. The paramedic can utilize voice or hand gestures to control the app’s port to look at the real-time heart rate of the individual, medicine allergies the individual has, blood type, and other possibly relevant data in the individual’s EHR. A holographic body screen can even be superimposed on the individual, or displayed next to the individual who points out the important body areas to test. Videos of how to run the particular physical test or test can be displayed with real-time feedback from the distant physician based on what’s seen. This allows for quick, precise on-site triage of a patient.

Technologically, the Microsoft HoloLens is a standalone headphone using portable computing power. Nomadeec is compatible with a broad array of wireless diagnostic apparatus and can support 10 or more connected Bluetooth devices at a time, also features cellular connectivity (WiFi, 3G/4G, satellite) to get tele-transmission along with tele-consultation. As you can imagine, there are many use cases for this tech. The digital projections look aesthetically pleasing, a vast variety of customizable assessment modules to display data from the most large scale forms, and most significantly — Nomadeec really works as a telemedicine platform which applies MR to individual control, and is not simply a futuristic concept.

We had an Opportunity to catch up with all the 2 co-founders of Exelus: Chief Medical Director Dr. Louis Rouxel and Chief Executive Officer Xavier Maurin.

Alice Ferng, Medgadget: How was the concept of this telemedicine platform conceived? What was the inspiration behind producing this tech?

Xavier Maurin, ” Chief Executive Officer of Exelus: Our story started in 2013, when Dr. Louis Rouxel, the emergency doctor, along with myself, the UX design expert decided to begin the job upon Louis’s vision and needs. Really, in his day-to-day practice, Louis neglected from being in a position to discuss an integrated and protected view of this field scene using an remote specialist if needed- especially in the event of emergency or experience- including individual medical data, conditions, etc.. He used his cellular phone to send images or videos, and some linked medical devices for key parameters, but all that info was sent individually and unsecurely. So Louis created the concept of a mobile integrated platform, featuring on the field practitioner side, a mobile application utilized on tablet computer with linked medical devices, also on the distant doctor side, a protected web application allowing to get the entire patient data at a glance. Exelus, the firm, was made late 2014 and it’s been dedicated to research and evolution of this Nomadeec platform for 3 decades.

Medgadget: Why is the Microsoft HoloLens headphone chosen? Was there some technological benefit that made this ideal?

Mr. Maurin: Technically​, the initial and main advantage is the “hands on” expertise. That is to say, the ability to socialize with the programs to satisfy the individual assessment, and speak with the remote specialist, in spite of blood in your gloves or in the sterile environment. This is a real revolution in health care assessment.This device should replace tablets or smartphones in a brief time, even within the hospital.

Another very important issue is maintaining the eye-contact together with the individual during the surgical mask, also being in a position to communicate and reassure the individual meanwhile.

We believe that this type of tool is making the difference to provide better and quicker medical decision, and to improve patient care and patchway, especially in medical desert and critical location.

Clearly, Microsoft HoloLens is the only tech that is actually older now. Also, we’re friends with the creators of Asobo Studio, a French firm based in Bordeaux (such as us), which was the first video game studio to build on HoloLens from the early phase of the tech. They’re among the very best in the world, and also we wanted to co-develop using their holographic division to acquire the “best of breed” in expression of technologies AND user expertise. Microsoft is also a really helpful and value-added spouse. We are working together with European and U.S. teams from either side: the medical and HoloLens branches, and they are all very supportive.

Using Nomadeec, HoloLens acts as a heads-up screen for monitoring a patient’s vital signs, as the platform can connect to numerous types of medical devices, such as ECGs, thermometers, stethoscopes, and ultrasound devices via Bluetooth. And when professionals desire another opinion from a medical professional, the Nomadeec system can join them to all those healthcare experts via video conference.

Medgadget: The Way has adoption of Nomadeec among the medical and healthcare communities been going? Who are you partnered with to utilize this tech and validate it in the field?

Dr. Louis Rouxel, ” Chief Medical Director of Exelus: Our current emergency teleHealth platform (working on the tablet) is used by 25% of the emergency medical services (EMS) in France, which means around 500 field professionals can communicate with about 100 EMS doctors. Our next generation platform comprising Microsoft HoloLens technology has been analyzed by EMTs, paramedics and Chief Medical Officers, though the industrial development has not started yet. We are running throughout the FDA approval process, which means that we will be able to sell our product by the end of the year. We are also in a consistent process of user-centric development, which means that we continue collaborating with healthcare professionals indefinitely. As an example, Dr. Rafael Grossman, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is currently analyzing Nomadeec on HoloLens.

Medgadget: What are some of the toughest challenges you’ve encountered so far with this kind of mixed-reality application?

Dr. Rouxel: The main challenge is to induce the shift… as in any narrative of invention. But here, because we’re talking about a person’s life and medical care, the challenges are of course higher. Since our business’s DNA is obviously medical, we always pay a lot of focus on developing useful and purposeful innovation. Even if we’re a little company at the moment, we’ve conducted medical studies with healthcare professionals to show the advantage of our alternative.

In 2018, some study labs are running larger studies using Nomadeec, also we will be able to demonstrate the telemedicine impact this manner.

Medgadget: Is Nomadeec currently restricted by the largest challenges in telemedicine associated with internet connectivity? Does this restrict field use of Nomadeec to places with stable relations such as hospitals or homes?

Mr. Maurin: These are pertinent worries and people’re working together with them in mind because among our co-founders is the emergency doctor who utilizes Nomadeec in his everyday work. Nomadeec has been designed through a pure user-centric approach, in collaboration with emergency and prehospital professionals. What matters is the advantage in use of this telemedicine. Our medical preliminary studies shows that the triage and also the orientation of the individual’s care changed in 25% of those cases thanks to the use of Nomadeec.

The stake is to improve the field-hospital communication. We offer the ideal solution for easy communication between on-duty team (Paramedics, EMT, nurses, care assistants, night watchmen, etc.) and medical care coordination services in an main care and distant-care context. The first outpatient assessment is proceed and teletransmit in under 10 minutes generally ( no more than current existing process) according to      the feedbacks of our existing users. We create our applications considering a variety of scenarios from the best functionality (with full 4G connectivity) to no connectivity.

The field practitioner is not network dependent to satisfy the individual assessment since all healthcare devices are communication via Bluetooth using our cellular app. We’ve optimized compression calculations to allow data transmission via 3G or Edge only. 4G would be required if the assessment features numerous pictures or whenever a videoconferencing is necessary. But sharing a comprehensive assessment using a distant physician, such as scores, photos of this prescriptions or scene, ECG hints, etc., is already big improvement and can change the patient evaluation and therapy, as we’ve shown.

Speaking about safety, we’ve developed a rugged architecture based on a secured hub. Data are always encrypted (AES 256 bits) and sent according to protected protocols (SSL). NOMADEEC meets all safety requirements health data storage and transmission.     Video-conferencing implements standard and secure protocols. Also info, services, and internet applications are available to health professionals by means of a server accredited for medical data hosting according to EU regulation and HIPAA-compliant such as North America. This ensures safety, 24/7 access, and storage.

All healthcare devices which are a part of NOMADEEC are Bluetooth connected and created by world wide manufacturers to offer adapted, professional medical apparatus. All of them fulfill CE and or FDA mark demands (Class IIA).

Medgadget: Are there any additional HoloLens programs that Exelus is working on?    

Mr. Maurin: not for the moment however we’re working on additional development to improve the user experience and Attention features on the current individual… remain tuned :-RRB-

Medgadget: Are there any plans to incorporate other sensors and wearable apparatus?

Dr. Rouxel: Yes. Our platform has been designed using an open perspective, and we certainly seek the best and most purposeful (medically speaking) linked medical devices. One of our forthcoming endeavors, we’re working on executing ultrasound, multi-parameter tracks in the best professional producers worldwide.

Medgadget: What are the next steps for the Organization and the Nomadeec stage in 2018 and many decades to come?

Mr. Maurin: Due to CES 2018, we’ve set up exciting and amazing projects with international medical partners from the USA, Latin America, and Europe. The majority of them are discreet, however we’ve clearly initiated our international development at the very best level of medical innovation since we’re the first to demonstrate a secure and proven mobile telemedicine platform utilizing mixed-reality.

Our firm has entered a new development cycle and we’ve started lobbying to concrete expansion.

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