Equipment repository will assist health-care facilities with medical inventory. Photo above: (from left to right) Biomedical Engineering Technology students Richard Madill, Jeff Rich and Dianna Hau work on the Biomedical Devices Knowledge Portal as part of the Office of Research Services and Innovation’s latest research project.

August 12, 2011

OSHAWA, ON. – The Office of Research Services and Innovation at Durham College, in partnership with Dapasoft Inc., a software development and IT consulting firm, is excited to announce the development of the Biomedical Devices Knowledge Portal – a repository for biomedical devices in health-care facilities.

The portal will provide clear and efficient information related to biomedical devices in hospitals, medical clinics and other health-care facilities across the province of Ontario, allowing health-care providers to quickly determine what devices have been purchased; how they are maintained; information about their life cycle; and where they are located within the building. This management system will potentially save millions of dollars for hospitals throughout the province.

Richard Tidman, a professor in the Biomedical Engineering Technology program at Durham College, is the lead on the pilot project. In collaboration with Dapasoft Inc., Tidman was responsible for the facilitation of the design and creation of the portal. He has a Master’s Business degree in Health Care Administration and 25 years of professional experience in the biomedical device technology industry. Durham College Biomedical Engineering Technology students Dianna Hau, Jeff Rich and Richard Madill are assisting Tidman with the project.

“The portal is revolutionary in concept and design and we hope it will ultimately change the face of the health-care industry,” said Tidman. “We look forward to continuing this worthwhile project with Dapasoft Inc. and creating a time-saving solution for hospitals across Ontario.”

Initial pilot testing of the portal will take place at Lakeridge Health Oshawa and Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Ont. with additional financial support from the Central East Local Health Integration Network (CELHIN). Subsequent funding is currently being pursued provincially to expand the scope and participation of the project, with the ultimate goal of integrating the system into all hospitals within the CELHIN and eventually throughout the entire province of Ontario.

“The CELHIN is proud to be a partner of the portal project. Through collaborative partnerships with industry, education and health care, this project is another example of how local health integration networks (LHIN) are locally supporting initiatives that simultaneously improve the efficiency and safety of patient care,” said James Meloche, senior director, System Design and Implementation, CELHIN. “It is anticipated that the portal will be an important asset not only for front-line health-care providers and their patients, but also for Ontario’s LHIN’s in their effort to ensure the highest return of the public’s investment in health-care devices.”

Wayne Thomas and Ron Demanovich of Dapasoft Inc. are also fulfilling roles in the portal project. Thomas has extensive experience in portal creation and data management and has spent many years in academic environments while Demanovich is the project co-ordinator for the build-out phase of the research project.

“Dapasoft is extremely proud and excited to be a part of this initiative and to leverage our health-care expertise to help translate IT investments into tangible benefits for the clients of the portal project,” said Michael Lonsway, president of Dapasoft. “By participating in building an effective, efficient and accountable tool that connects health-care providers to the resources they need to deliver services, we hope to do our part in improving patient care.”

Each piece of biomedical equipment will be tagged with a tracking device, allowing the user to then find the device by keying in the item’s name. The portal will then locate the device and inform the user of its location in real-time, drastically reducing the time spent using manual search methods. With funding from the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII) and stakeholder engagement from regional, provincial and international levels, the project team will ensure that they are creating a global solution to clinical maintenance management.

Currently, a province-wide or regionally shared repository for hospitals to access information related to these devices does not exist as each hospital operates independently, confining the information within each institution. Biomedical devices are purchased through a series of non-standardized, stand-alone systems. These inefficient methods cause hospital personnel to squander numerous hours searching for equipment when they could be assisting patients. As well, duplicate items are occasionally purchased due to a lack of proper organization.

In addition to saving time, the return on investment is anticipated to take place within the first year of implementation with a further cumulative associated annual savings. Early findings confirm these initial projections, with participating hospitals unaware of many biomedical devices that they possess, thereby allowing them to save substantial amounts of money in repurchasing costs.

Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, CONII is a consortium of 22 Ontario colleges dedicated to helping business and industry stay competitive in the global economy. In addition to providing support to businesses it also offers financial support to colleges, enabling them to provide quicker access to the expertise of Ontario’s top researchers and the most state-of-the-art equipment and research tools available.

 

About Durham College

At Durham College, the student experience comes first. In September 2010, the college welcomed more than 30,000 students to campus including more than 7,600 full-time post-secondary students as well as part-time, Second Career and continuing education students; apprentices; and online learners. The college offers a wide range of market-driven programs in a number of different disciplines including business, information technology, energy, media, art, design, general arts and sciences, skilled trades, justice, emergency services and health care, enabling them to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market.

A three-phase expansion of the college’s Whitby campus is currently underway. Phase 1 opened in September 2009 followed by Phase 2 in May 2011. Phase 3 will see the creation of a 30,000-square-foot building focused on agriculture, culinary, hospitality and tourism. Accommodating approximately 950 new students, it will house new classrooms and labs and offer a full-service, green-certified restaurant, lounge and greenhouse.

In addition, a new Student Services building opened at the Oshawa campus in January 2011.

For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.

 

About Dapasoft Inc.

Dapasoft Inc. is a software development and IT consulting firm with a long history of demonstrated success in delivering custom software solutions and system integration services to clients in a variety of vertical markets including public sector, steel manufacturing and health care. Established in 1997 and based in Toronto, Dapasoft has grown to more than 90 full-time Information Technology professionals who are highly skilled in today’s most popular technologies. Taking pride in being unique and delivering value through their customized solutions, the company has earned a reputation as an international leader in software development through a number of awards for software innovation and quality.

 

Media contact:

Michelle Roebuck
Communications, Marketing and External Relations
Durham College
905.721.2000 ext. 2197
michelle.roebuck@durhamcollege.ca