Ben Gurion University and Simbionix 3D systems improve Coronavirus diagnosis with lung ultrasound

Israeli company Simbionix, the simulator division of 3D Systems Corporation, which specializes in the development of manufacturing of medical simulators, including ultra-sound, has harnessed its capabilities to help fight COVID-19. Simbionix has developed a unique training module for diagnosing COVID-19 with a lung pulmonary. Developed in collaboration with medical teams across the globe and Israel, including Dr. Lior Fuchs, member of Ben Gurion University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and senior physician at the Intensive Internal Care Unit at the Soroka University Medical Center, and Dr. Shirley Friedman, a senior physician in the intensive pediatric care unit and head of the Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) service at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

The training is already underway.  A team of specially-trained medical students from Ben Gurion University, led by student Tomer Gat, visit Israel's hospitals voluntarily to train the medical staff in diagnosing Coronavirus patients. The straightforward diagnostic training process takes place with a lung ultrasound that simulates typical pathologies of viral pneumonia and the onset of risky symptoms. The training enhances physicians’ diagnostic skills to improve diagnostic credibility and efficiency in real-time.

The spread of the Coronavirus in Israel has required medical staff in the hospitals to modify the care protocols and resort to technological means that would ensure patients receive optimal treatment while protecting the medical team from contracting the virus.

Research and evidence from China and Italy have shown that the “new stethoscopes,” as the mobile ultrasound devices are called, improve the diagnosis of COVID—19 patients with a simple, non-invasive scan that lets the medical staff remain protected. The ultrasound scan is performed at the point of care, namely the patient’s bedside, saving the need to transport the patient to the imaging ward, thus helping contain the virus spread in the hospital. The ultrasound scan is now part of the protocol used to diagnose Coronavirus patients in hospitals across the globe.

Tal Avziz, director of simulation imaging at Simbionix 3D Systems, said, “Simbionix’ simulators, including those used for ultrasound training, have been used by medical students and medical teams worldwide for years. It was shown that simulator training improves the accuracy of real-time diagnosis while flattening the learning curve. Enhanced medical skills are more critical than ever at this time when hospitals are under immense pressure. We applaud Ben Gurion University, the Soroka Medical Center, and the Sourasky Medical Center for pitching into the effort by allowing all their staff to become versed in diagnosing Coronavirus patients with pulmonary ultrasound.”

Over the past few years, the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben Gurion University has pioneered a revolution in teaching Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS), by adding this skill to the toolkits of all its medical students. Dr. Lior Fuchs, who is responsible for teaching PoCUS at Ben Gurion University, led the purchase of the world’s most advanced ultrasound system and the training of the PoCUS instructors.

Given the knowhow accumulated at Ben Gurion University, pulmonologists and internal physicians asked to be trained in lung ultrasound art to improve the diagnosis of Coronavirus patients. Training clips were also uploaded to the faculty’s simulator, with common pathologies of viral pneumonia, including COVID-19.

Dr. Lior Fuchs commented, “COVID-10 is manifested mainly by acute respiratory failure accompanied by fast-spreading lung edema and inflammation. Reports from China and Italy stressed that using bedside ultrasound provides a much more accurate diagnosis and earlier detection of the disease onset. In this way, we can identify the patients at risk without compromising the protection of the medical staff by using traditional stethoscopes or transferring them to chest radiography and CT. under the current situation, a skilled point-of-care ultrasound scan has become a critical part of the COVID-19 diagnostic protocol. The student volunteer who joined the effort allow the professors, who are physicians at Soroka and other medical centers, to continue their clinical work at a lesser risk of contracting the disease.”

Dr. Shirley Friedman added, “Ultrasound plays a critical role not only in diagnosing COVID-19 associated pneumonia but in monitoring hospitalized patients, their reaction to treatment, and reaction to ventilation by ICU patients.”