Foxboro paramedics to use AI-assisted ultrasounds
FOXBORO — Firefighter/paramedic Chris McNamara played patient while a sonographer ran an artificial intelligence-assisted ultrasound probe over his chest and abdomen.
With the push of a button, the black and white ghostly images of McNamara’s pumping heart on a computer display light up with yellow points labeling the heart and other organs.
“For a paramedic using AI to assist in identifying the landmarks is really a big enhancement and it reduces the learning curve,” Tom Kenvin, the town’s public health nurse, said during a training session for paramedics Friday at the fire station.
Eight years ago, the department was the first in the state to have paramedics trained to use ultrasounds. They are now the first to take the technology to the next level with AI-assisted probes, fire officials said.
Kenvin, who is also the fire department’s deputy chief of emergency medical services, said the AI-assisted probes will enable the department’s 39 paramedics to more quickly and accurately assess a patient’s internal injuries and determine whether a transport to a hospital that is a designated Level 1 trauma center is necessary.
“The ultrasound is going to be the new stethoscope,” Kenvin said, referring to the medical devices doctors commonly wear around their necks to listen to heartbeats and breathing.
The ultrasound probes enable paramedics to determine whether a patient has fluid around their heart, a collapsed lung, internal bleeding and other types of internal injuries, he said.
Without being able to “see” inside a person’s body, it can be difficult to determine a patient’s injuries or know whether they should be taken to a trauma center.
“It can be the difference between life and death,” Fire Chief Mike Kelleher said.
The AI-probes not only label the organs on a computer screen, but they automatically let a paramedic know when the device is correctly positioned.
“They are amazing. It takes the guesswork out of it,” Kelleher said.
The fire department has two of the AI-probes at a cost of $5,500 each, including a limited software package, he said.
When the department first started using ultrasounds, Kenvin said, there was a concern that their use would delay taking patients to hospitals.
However, a study of reports filed with the state Department of Public Health showed their use improved patient care rather than delay care, he said.
Paramedics using the ultrasounds while taking a patient to the hospital are able to communicate with doctors at a trauma level hospital who are then better prepared to continue treatment, Kenvin said.
After completing the training by EchoNous, the Washington-based manufacturer of the AI-probes, on Friday, paramedics will immediately be able to use the devices.
Kathie McEnany, a clinical account manager for the company who is a registered diagnostic cardiac sonographer, praised the department for being trained to use the ultrasounds.
“They are really ahead of their time. They are really at the forefront and dedicated to helping their community,” McEnany said.