A recent study conducted by the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, both based in New Brunswick, N.J., found that cardiac point-of-care ultrasound has the potential to streamline care while lowering hospital costs and decreasing lengths of stay.
The study was presented at the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging's EchoEuro-Imaging Conference in Berlin in December and is anticipated to be published in the first half of 2025, according to a Jan. 13 news release from digital health company Butterfly Network.
Principal study investigator Partho Sengupta, MD, is chief of cardiovascular medicine at both RWJMS and RWJUH. He spoke with Becker's about the study results and what they mean for cardiovascular care.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Q: How did point-of-care ultrasound enhance clinical decision-making?
Dr. Partho Sengupta: What we're talking about is carrying an ultrasound in your pocket. The system connects to the back of your phone or tablet, which then becomes your ultrasound system. The diagnostic accuracy is very high for identifying cardiovascular diseases, which allows for far more precise and accurate information to be collected.
When a patient is admitted to the emergency room with an unclear reason for shortness of breath, it could be due to a mild infection, an underlying heart problem or something else. Using point-of-care ultrasound, you can take a picture of the heart and if you're proficient, you can diagnose the condition immediately. If you need help, you can send the images to a colleague via the cloud instantly.
The cardiologist on the other side logs in, reviews the images and calls back with their interpretation: "You've got a heart failure patient," or, "Your valve is leaking," etc. You already have a full diagnosis within the first 20 minutes.
Q: What key outcomes were reported after implementing point-of-care ultrasound?
PS: We had two groups of patients during the trial: those who received care with Butterfly's point-of-care ultrasound devices and those who received standard care. We observed an average reduction in length of stay of more than four days and up to 50% reduction in costs for patients who received point-of-care ultrasound during their hospital stay.
The precision of the ultrasound imaging reduces the need for excessive testing. It also allows for faster diagnosis and decision-making for treatment and care management.
Q: From an operational standpoint, what steps can hospitals take to successfully integrate point-of-care ultrasound?
PS: Formal educational programs need to be developed to train hospitalists to use the technology, which requires robust IT infrastructure and support.
Additionally, hospitalists and specialists need to be incentivized to use the technology. Without incentives, it's difficult to implement such practices. Incentives should encourage cardiologists to act as champions and work with their team members to foster collaboration. Cardiovascular disease and heart failure are increasing, and there is no better way forward than collaboration.
Q: How did collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School influence implementation of the technology?
PS: Collaboration was critical because, on one side, we focus on research, training and education, and on the other side, we take care of patients in the hospital. This allowed us to successfully combine cutting-edge research with patient care while implementing the technology.
I came here four years ago with a grand vision for the digital transformation of cardiology, and this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of innovation. We are creating an innovation culture — bringing together academia, industry partners, nurses, scientists and engineers — we're solving problems in a multidisciplinary environment. These teams are all part of this effort.
I'm incredibly proud of the environment that has been formed, and I think Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are really poised for some very exciting ventures.