Taipei: Service General Hospital (TSGH) has introduced Taiwan’s first AI-powered dialysis platform, marking a significant advancement in the treatment of severe kidney disease. The new system is designed to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of the blood filtering process, which is crucial for patients undergoing dialysis.
According to Focus Taiwan, the platform integrates information systems, AI decision support, and mobile applications to streamline the delivery process and expedite the detection of dialysis complications. Taiwan currently holds the highest prevalence of dialysis globally, with 89,700 patients as of 2023, according to Hsu Shun-neng, chief of TSGH’s Dialysis Center. He highlighted these statistics during a press conference at TSGH in Taipei.
Dialysis, a critical treatment for patients whose kidneys can no longer filter waste and excess fluids, typically requires frequent hospital visits, often three times a week. This long-term treatment necessitates extensive paperwork and limits patients’ mobility, including their ability to travel abroad. Hsu emphasized the need for digitization to improve efficiency, recalling past speculations about eliminating the burdensome paperwork associated with dialysis records.
Hsu and his team developed the Portable Hemodialysis Automation and Decision Support Platform to address these challenges. Officially launched on Wednesday, the platform is already benefiting 150 dialysis patients at TSGH by streamlining workflows and reducing paperwork. It enhances safety by providing AI alerts based on data tracking through an app.
The platform also includes an app for patients, enabling them to access their dialysis records over a year, receive personalized care information, and obtain remote guidance for self-management. Additionally, it offers a bilingual dialysis report feature for patients traveling abroad, allowing foreign physicians to access their records in both Chinese and English.
The AI-powered platform has various clinical applications, such as analyzing test results and vital signs, identifying potential complications, and reminding physicians about necessary follow-ups. Hsu cited a case where the platform identified a high fracture risk in a long-term dialysis patient, leading to the discovery of micro-fractures and low bone density due to severe osteoporosis.
Looking ahead, the platform has achieved Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) validation, enabling standardized data exchange with international hospitals. It can integrate with existing hardware in other hospitals, including those in the United States. Hsu expressed optimism about the platform’s potential global promotion, although he believes it is more likely to be adopted by developed countries initially.
