AI-Powered MEMORI Software Enhances Patient Care by Predicting Infection Risk at the RHN
Article contributed by
At Sanome, our goal is to transform vast amounts of healthcare data into clinically actionable insights for healthcare teams. We’ve developed a software called MEMORI, integrated into PatientSource, the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system currently used at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability (RHN), that predicts the risk of a patient developing an infection within the next 7 days.
MEMORI provides clinicians with a robust and meaningful tool, the MEMORI risk level, to identify infection cases more accurately and faster, thereby enabling teams to intervene earlier, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and improved healthcare system efficiencies.
MEMORI is the result of a more than a year-long collaboration with the RHN, starting in January 2023. During that time, we engaged with various healthcare professionals, including nurses, HCAs, consultants, and clinical fellows, to understand their work, challenges, and how we could best support them.
During several ideation sessions, hospital-acquired infections were identified as the most impactful area where we could assist. Based on retrospective data from RHN and in collaboration with the Research department, we estimated around 100 transfers to St-George’s Hospital annually, with approximately 80% due to infections. These emergency transfers impose significant emotional, physical, and financial costs.
Following these ideation sessions, we developed MEMORI further and returned to RHN for feedback sessions, presenting successive versions of the software. The feedback was invaluable in refining MEMORI to be practical and user-friendly for clinical teams. The next step is to evaluate the utility and the effectiveness of MEMORI in a real-world environment. With that in mind, the RHN has agreed to host a prospective study for which Ethics approval was obtained where MEMORI will be trialled out on a small number of patients in a specific ward.
This pilot will be conducted in the Drapers ward, specializing in patients with severe brain injuries and will initially last for a few months. For consenting patients, MEMORI will generate a risk level indicating their likelihood of developing an infection within the next 7 days. This risk level is intended to be an additional resource for healthcare professionals, used alongside existingmeasures.
The main purpose of the pilot is to assess MEMORI’s usefulness and usability. User feedback is crucial, as MEMORI should empower clinical teams without adding extra work. Our hope is to
implement MEMORI in multiple wards at RHN, supporting the staff in providing the best possible care.