April 21, 2020
GETTING SMART
The wave of coronavirus cases hitting U.S. hospitals is requiring them to think strategically about how best to manage critical resources like mechanical ventilators and ICU beds. In Oregon, though, healthcare providers are thinking through the challenge with the help of artificial intelligence: Some 64 of the state’s hospitals, representing about 90% of its hospital beds, have teamed up to roll out a software application that uses AI to help maximize life-saving supplies. The Oregon Capacity System, based on GE Healthcare’s Critical Resource Tile software, allows the hospitals to dynamically share critical asset information during the peak of the pandemic. “It’s easy for clinicians to instantly see where the hot spots and excess capacity are across the whole network,” said Jeff Terry, chief executive of GE Healthcare’s clinical command centers.
Digital eyes: Working in the background, AI algorithms developed by GE Healthcare gather and analyze data generated by hospitals and turn it into real-time operational insights. The “Tile” corrals 2 million data points every day from the state’s hospital networks and updates every few minutes with a fresh batch of data on everything from admissions and nursing flows to ventilator usage and bed requests. Users can see all that information in a hospital’s incident command center, or they can pull it up on a smartphone or tablet — it’s “no harder to use” than a ride-sharing app, Terry said: “It is constantly connecting the dots, alerting to risks and making suggestions where the system can create capacity.”
Learn more here about how AI is sharpening hospitals’ responses to COVID-19.
REMEMBERING JOHN LAMMAS
When he died suddenly earlier this month, John Lammas was vice president for engineering at GE Gas Power — but he left his mark all over the company. Really, all over the world: in airports, in desert oil and gas fields, and in the way that natural gas is helping bring more renewable energy to homes and businesses. The last gas turbine he worked on made it all the way to Guinness World Records, powering the most efficient combined cycle power plant. Over the course of his 35 years with GE, Lammas also spent two decades at GE Aviation and several years at GE Oil & Gas, which merged with Baker Hughes. “John’s impact on our company and the lives of so many was tremendous,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Gas Power. “He was an incredible engineer, leader, mentor and friend.”
Engine of ingenuity: Born in England, Lammas never lost his accent or his dry sense of humor during his decades in the U.S. He’s remembered by his colleagues not just as a brilliant engineer but as an unparalleled communicator — and he found ways to fuse both skills during his career. In the 1980s, for instance, while working for GE Aviation in Ohio, Lammas helped resolve an engineering bottleneck that was slowing the production of a jet engine that would go on to become one of the most successful ever built. The solution he offered was out-of-the-box — “Everyone thought I was crazy,” he recalled later — but it was effective, leading to better results and lower assembly costs. For Lammas, the lesson was clear: Fresh perspectives facilitate innovation, and it’s always worthwhile to question the status quo.
Read more here about the legendary life and career of John Lammas.
LEADING THE WAY
GE turned 128 years old last week and, as the occasion passed, the company continued to do what it’s always done: Work to provide innovative solutions that move the world forward. Right now, those solutions are needed more than ever. But as Larry Culp, the company’s chairman and CEO, reminded readers in a new post on LinkedIn, “GE has always stepped up in key moments in history. Since the first day I walked through the door at GE, I’ve been impressed by the grit and resilience of our more than 200,000 employees. But few things in life have inspired me as much as watching our workers rise to the challenges now facing our world.”
Rolling up their sleeves: Culp said as the pandemic has swept the world, GE employees have increased the production of ventilators needed to treat COVID-19 patients, mobilized to 3D-print shields that extend the lives of valuable N95 masks, used artificial intelligence to help connect hospital beds with the patients who need them most, and helped customers make sure that the critical infrastructure undergirding the fight against the coronavirus stays healthy and sound. The current moment “is asking for GE,” Culp concluded, “and we will continue to answer the call.”
Read the full post here.
WAYS THE WORLD ? FOUGHT BACK
1. The Science Is Sound
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers aiming to better understand the novel coronavirus “translated” the structure of the virus’ spike protein — the surface protein that enables it to attach to human cells — into a musical score.
2. Antibody Buildup Pharmaceutical companies announced plans to roll out tens of millions of antibody tests by summer, in hopes of tracking the spread of the coronavirus and identifying those whose immune systems have developed some resistance to it.
3. The Power Of AI Artificial intelligence helped identify a drug that’s already on the market that might be able to treat patients with COVID-19. It’s now set to undergo randomized controlled trials.
Click here for more promising developments in global health.
— QUOTE OF THE DAY —
“Seeing various health systems coming online and displaying in mission control is pretty awesome.”
— Matthias Merkel, chief medical capacity officer at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland
Quote: GE Reports. Image: Getty Images.
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