Venue - Ultrasound for the Critical Moment 2015-2017

Designers: GE Healthcare Global Design & UX, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
Manufacturer: GE Healthcare, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, USA

Venue is a high-performance diagnostic and guidance Ultrasound(U/S) system designed for Emergency Room physicians. The large multi-touch user interface has an automated tool-set to simplify and accelerate clinical workflow and is easily cleaned. Designed for ease of use, Venue minimizes training time, enabling physicians to make quick and accurate diagnoses. 

DESIGN CHALLENGE 

Worldwide, emergency rooms are in crisis. Crowding, delays, and diversions have increased to epidemic proportions. About one third of patient survival outcomes can be significantly improved by administering rapid intensive care. Additional costs include measures to ensure accurate initial diagnosis. System interaction must be simple, fast and intuitive. Start-up times can exceed 20sec, and poor battery life/charging requires another cord. Many systems are difficult to fit and maneuver within the chaos of an ER. Probe cords get caught, run over, and damaged, while service downtime can increase patient wait times. For infection control, systems must be quickly and easily cleaned. 

DESIGN SOLUTION 

Venue’s “Dashboard” design equips physicians with a large 19" display and integrated probe holder that communicates key interaction areas for fast and efficient image acquisition. At a distance users can discern if the system's 4 hour battery is fully charged via the color coded indicator. As the physician articulates the dashboard to desired position and begins navigation, probes are easily accessed while stored safely above the display to reduce risk of their cords dragging on the floor, becoming contaminated or damaged. The multi-touch, button-less user interface has an automated tool-set to simplify and accelerate clinical workflow and is easily cleaned. 

DESIGN IMPACT 

In the U.S. alone ER visits account for 11% of outpatients, 28% acute care, and 50% hospital admissions. With Venue, physicians can feel more confident to make quick and accurate diagnoses contributing to increased throughput and patient/care giver satisfaction potentially raising revenue and reimbursement rates. Designed for self-service, cost of ownership can be decreased by minimizing system "down" time and the associated stress on an ER staff and patients. Venue's energy efficiency can save more than 20 MWh in electricity consumption over 8 years, preventing approximately 12 metric tons of CO2 emissions, equivalent to annual CO2 emissions of 2 automobiles. 

OTHER KEY FEATURES 

A full 360-degree console handle and dashboard handle allow quick “grab-n-go” transport. 6” single wheel casters safely roll over cords and uneven thresholds. At bedside, the the system can be maneuvered from any side and locked into position. The dashboard is easily unlocked from the console by an ergonomic finger-actuated release and can be positioned to 180 degrees from the console for cross-bed access in tight working conditions. The articulating arm, accommodating various user heights, can be set at incremental angles to minimize glare and puts probes, gel, and UI comfortably within user's reach. The <6sec boot from sleep/standby (<80sec from shut down) quickly gets physicians scanning. First in class Auto Tools, i.e., A-VTI, allows physicians to assess a patient’s response to fluids with one touch. Venue's algorithms can help simplify complicated steps during a patient evaluation. Integrated, color-coded quality indicators support your collection of meaningful data during rapid assessments for improved accuracy and reduced variability. Designed for self-service, internal components are easily accessed by pull tabs popping off the side covers, and with one tool, modules can be quickly removed and reinstalled. If power cord is needed a large cord hook is located higher to improve access and management. 

COMMERCIALITY 

At $40-$45k, GE offers a host of "hard & soft" features over comparable systems at the same price, i.e. the dashboard comes with an ergonomic articulating arm easily unlocked from the console by a hand-actuated finger release to quickly position dashboard up to 180 degrees from console for cross-bed patient access or tight working conditions. Cost of ownership and downtime are reduced with design for self-service - internal components are easily accessed by pulling tabs to pop-off side covers and with one tool, modules are quickly removed and reinstalled. A handle-mounted probe holder provides an alternate location to self-sheath for sterile procedures. 

INNOVATION 

Venue offers the largest in class 19" dashboard touch UI. The <6sec boot from sleep/standby, (<80sec from shut down), quickly gets physicians scanning. Patented cord management design prevents substantial probe replacement costs reducing downtime, patient throughput delays, and limits stressful situations for ER staff. First in class Auto Tools - A-VTI, allows physicians one-touch to assess patient’s response to fluids as opposed to multiple touches. The “Plopable” probes have instant image acquisition without additional inputs. AI based machine learning is built into every Auto Tool where color-coded quality indicators educate physicians to improve scanning helping them acquire the best image possible.