Disrupting the real-time medical imaging market, and accelerating innovation, with cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Project Information

Cydar PaaS

Grant agreement ID: 674214

DOI

10.3030/674214

Project closed

EC signature date 27 April 2015

Start date 1 May 2015

End date 31 October 2015

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

CYDAR LIMITED
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Cydar PaaS (Disrupting the real-time medical imaging market, and accelerating innovation, with cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS))

Reporting period: 2015-05-01 to 2015-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Cloud computing offers an opportunity to disrupt the entrenched hardware-oriented business models which are stifling digital innovation in operating rooms. Connecting the video output of imaging equipment to cloud computing in a secure, approved environment, opens a powerful new channel for introducing novel clinical applications.
The primary objective of the Phase 1 project was for Cydar Limited to evaluate the technical issues and commercial feasibility of developing a new market for real time imaging software services (applications) to aid image guided surgery. The main focus of the Phase 1 investigation was X-ray guided surgery, a common means of guiding medical interventions when optical guidance is not possible, and where there is strong demand to improve visualisation. The solution is expected be applicable to other forms of image guidance such as optical video and ultrasound.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During Phase 1, Cydar:
1. established the novelty and practicality of its basic platform technology. Cydar is the first organisation in the world to use cloud technology to support live image-guided procedures with its own application.
2. demonstrated that itse platform can handle patient identifiable data in compliance with the Information Governance principles of confidentiality, integrity and availability.
3. established the security of the platform. Cydar’s information security management system is ISO27001 certified and US Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant.
4. confirmed the feasibility and costs of implementing secure imaging portals. Specifically the project demonstrated that the platform can be:
o agnostic of imaging (X-ray set) manufacturers (“vendor neutral”);
o used on older, analogue imaging (X-ray sets) as well as newer ones; and
o used on fixed and mobile imaging systems (including C-arm image intensifiers).
5. established that there is significant market interest from potential platform user groups including
o medical device companies;
o software innovators; and
o research institutions across the EU.
The Phase 1 project also identified a potential market for secondary use of anonymised contextual imaging data that would otherwise be usually lost.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

There is huge potential in the successful execution of a platform which would significantly disrupt the existing market, lower barriers to innovation, and improve access to software services for users and new suppliers. This would benefit EU and global citizens by simplifying the access to digital innovation in operating rooms and improving patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency.

The Phase 2project is expected to lead to:
- Reduced development costs for SMEs and research groups. Conforming to hospital IS and IG requirements and integrating with the existing technical environment is simply too expensive, too time consuming and outside the core capabilities of many smaller clinical application innovators.
- Reduced costs to hospitals. Healthcare institutions are required to vet all new suppliers and then deal with installation and maintenance of multiple different software systems - a process that has considerable resource and cost implications. Fundamental to Cydar’s vision, is that once the PaaS is installed in hospitals, there will be no additional overhead every time a new clinical application is introduced.
- Increased access to healthcare technology at a decreased cost to the taxpayer. There is potential for significant savings across the EU once there is large scale deployment of the PaaS.

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