Improved efficiencies during health emergencies through enhanced visualisation of tubes and lines in the ITU setting

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen a huge increase in the number of hospital admissions for patients requiring care in intensive therapy/care units (ITU). These patients are often critically ill, immobile and in need of rapid interventions to assist with breathing, feeding and deployment of other health support systems. This influx has also highlighted how inadequate current mobile imaging systems are for the provision of care for these patients, with imaging for placement of tubes, lines and other devices often requiring repeats due to poor image quality. This increases the strain on an already stretched NHS resource pool and results in other services being reduced in a time of crisis.

IBEX Trueview is a novel physics-based X-ray imaging technology that has been demonstrated to enhance image quality in mobile chest X-rays (CXR) through accurate removal of the deleterious effects of scatter. This project will additionally demonstrate the potential for IBEX Trueview to improve the quality of tube and line imaging through application of unique "composition-guided post processing" (CGPP) methods.

This project will build upon the core CGPP algorithm to develop novel methods to enhance the visibility of lines and tubes whilst retaining high quality diagnostic images. The value of this for improved treatment in the ITU setting will be tested through an evaluation on consented patient images, and a health economics study which will determine its impact for the future sustainability of NHS ITU services during healthcare emergencies.