Call For Collaboration

Healthcare innovation is imperative to address the range of health challenges posed by a rapidly aging population including increasing healthcare services demand, shrinking healthcare workforce and rising healthcare costs. Embark with us on an innovation journey at the Changi General Hospital Office of Innovation!

List of Problem Statements

Below is a list of problem statements curated from our CGH clinical and operational champions! We invite partners to collaborate with us to develop innovative solutions to address these problem statements. Contact us!

Serial No	Project Title	Description
PS001	Removing a stuck ring on finger that is injured or infected	Stuck rings on fingers that are swollen from medical complications are a special challenge that require time, effort and care to remove. They are often painful and also involve lack of blood supply to the digit that can compromise survival of the digit. As ischemia sets in, it contributes to further inflammation and swelling thus setting up a vicious cycle.
PS002	Prevention of patient fall from radiological examination couches during procedures in the department	As a routine, patients undergoing radiological procedures often have to be left alone on the procedure couches or tables while being watched by the radiographer/s from the operating consoles a distance away. There are certain groups of patients that may be at higher risk of falls because of their lack of mental alertness, age or medical conditions.
PS003	Better accuracy for Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) emitter	Focal Extra Corporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) is an established treatment modality for degenerative tendon-bone junction lesions, such as plantar fasciitis, tennis / golfer's elbow, patellar tendinosis, and Achilles enthesopathy. Efficacy is dependent on delivering the appropriate intensity ESWT accurately to the lesion.
PS004	Auditory training after cochlear implants	Deterioration in hearing with advancing age is one of the most prevalent conditions affecting the adult population. For these individuals with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, a cochlear implant (CI) is often the best option for better hearing. A cochlear implant enables a person to have access to the sounds, but the person may not be able to interpret the sounds and understand what is being said right away. Cochlear implant recipients need to undergo a period of intensive auditory rehabilitation therapy for maximal benefits from the implants. Currently, these sessions are conducted with specialised audiologists and speech therapists in hospitals over face-to-face sessions, and for suitable patients over tele-rehabilitation sessions. Due to the heavy commitment for home program and the lack of immediate objective feedback on performance, compliance to home therapy remains a huge challenge.
PS005	Transportation of patients	There are fewer Patient Service Associates (PSA) to provide portering manpower in recent times. Nurses do assist but the nursing manpower can be better allocated for ward care. During transportation between wards or procedures, patients may be in distress and uncomfortable. They would like to ask questions about their stay or procedures they might undergo. PSAs may not know enough to provide such information. In addition, sudden deterioration during transportation may not be detected in time.
PS006	Optimal mammography positioning	Breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in women worldwide and the number one most frequent cancer amongst women in Singapore, accounting for 29% of all cancer cases diagnosed in women. Mammography is the primary screening tool for early breast cancer detection. Correct mammographic positioning technique and optimal breast compression are key factors affecting image quality.
PS007	Use of trolley beds during trauma and medical resuscitations in the Accident & Emergency Department	Resuscitation of unstable patients occur daily and frequently at any Accident & Emergency (A&E) department; it is one of the core tasks of the A&E. Modern resuscitation takes a team approach, for example, doctors and nurses are assigned roles to cover Airway, Breathing and Circulation tasks. The two most common team resuscitation scenarios are major trauma and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. Currently, resuscitation for the above two scenarios are carried out using standard, commercially available A&E trolley beds. These trolleys are ubiquitous in A&E departments, and are multi-use, for all patients requiring resuscitation or bed rest.
PS008	Extensive process during cardiopulmonary resuscitation	In cardiopulmonary resuscitation, multiple healthcare providers work in tandem rapidly to ensure a smooth protocolised resuscitation attempt. As part of the resuscitation process, a minimum of two nurses are required for protocolised drug delivery. One nurse has to manually prepare the correct drugs, dosages, dilution and drug labelling while the other performs administration and recording of drug delivery timing. This process may be hindered by insufficient staffing, as manpower is concurrently required for chest compression, defibrillation as well as airway management. A sequential correct drug delivery is vital to the success of resuscitation.
PS009	Improve compliance to hand hygiene	Hand hygiene is the primary action to reduce health-care-associated infection and cross-transmission of antimicrobial-resistant pathogen. It is widely known that compliance with hand hygiene recommendations is poor in the hospital.
PS010	Medication adherence among the community dwelling elderly	Ageing is associated with chronic medical conditions which translates to accumulation of regular daily prescription medications to control these chronic medical conditions. As Singapore faces the silver tsunami, the elderly are encouraged to live independently in the community while remaining well physically, mentally and socially. Medication non-adherence is a common problem, especially among the elderly who have numerous pills to take, multiple times a day. Medication-associated problems like drug-drug interactions, adverse effects and non-adherence cause significant morbidity and mortality and hospitalisations.
PS011	Appropriate intervention for Acute back sprains	Patients with acute back sprains often appear at the Accident & Emergency department, many of which require support and exercise and not surgery.
PS012	Reducing reliance of manpower in toilet cleaning	Increasingly challenging to find manpower to clean the toilets in the hospital.
PS013	Training for Radiography Procedures	Real-time imaging (or radiofluoroscopy) such as Barium Meal Study and Barium Enema are not only high-dose procedures, but also labour-intensive as they require the operator to manoeuvre both machine and patient to obtain the images in real-time. Therefore, both operator and patient will need to be in close proximity to the radiation source during the procedure, and the longer the procedure takes, the more radiation dose (primary and scattered radiation) each will receive. Training for junior operators and medical officers (MOs) is a long process, as trainees need to be familiar with equipment and also patients' anatomical images displayed during the fluoroscopic procedure. Hence, the current training method is not ideal as the trainer has to be in close proximity to the trainee, the patient and the fluoroscopy machine during the training process. The longer each training session takes, depending on how complex the patient's conditions are, the greater the radiation risk and discomfort to the patient.
PS014	Preparation of Gelfoam for embolisation	Gelfoam is a degradable agent that is commonly used by interventional radiologists to embolise (i.e. occlude by way of injection through tiny catheters) tumours or bleeding blood vessels. Gelfoam comes in large sheets and need to be cut into pieces small enough to fit into blood vessels that are 1 to 2mm in size. The current method of Gelfoam preparation is time-consuming and does not allow for accurate control of particle sizes.

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Call For Collaboration

List of Problem Statements

Call For Collaboration