Smartphone technology and the transport of the emergency neurosurgical patient

Abstract

The safe management of the emergency neurosurgical patient prior to and during transfer to a neurosurgical hospital is vital. We developed the smartphone application (app) ‘NeuroT’, as a patient safety enhancement tool to aid in the reduction of secondary brain injury, by providing clear and concise information to the transferring anaesthetist. The main causes of secondary brain injury are raised intracranial pressure, hypotension, hypoxia, hypercarbia and high fever. ‘NeuroT’ provides accessible guidelines via smartphones to help anaesthetists manage these issues during patient transfer. Mobile phones with smartphone technology are commonplace among doctors. This has led to the development of numerous medical software apps, to assist doctors in their daily work. These apps provide increased access to clinical tools, which have been shown to support better clinical decision-making.1 2 Smartphone technology allows fast access to information at the point of care. In January 2011, Apple created the ‘Apps for Healthcare Professionals’ section within the medical category of the iTunes App Store. In 2013, it further divided it into subcategories such as medical education, patient monitoring, imaging, and so on.3 This has opened up the door to numerous helpful apps that …