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Vantage Telediagnostics
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Vantage has developed a unique system for transmitting digital images and data from the doctors' surgery to specialists, to improve referral management, and allow for remote diagnosis of conditions that would normally need referral to a consultant for secondary care. The system was first developed for dermatology, cardiology and dentistry. A new system has been developed for orthopaedic triage and further primry carereferral management systems are in development.
Over 7000 referrals have been handled by the teledermatology process, in trials with several PCT's. Cardiology trials allow the GP to transmit ecg traces to a cardiologist for rapid analysis and recommended courses of treatment, either urgently requiring surgical intervention, or to follow a course of medication under the GP's supervision. .In the current economic climate Vantage technology permits better use of precious healthcare resources. and greater transparency and visibility of resource utilisation.
Experience has shown with the most advanced dermatology product, that over 70% of referrals can be avoided by specialist triage and expensive secondary treatment avoided. In addition patient care is improved, as results are available to the primary care physician within 48 hours, compared with up to six weeks wait to see a specialist. Furthermore, in 7% of cases, carcinomas have been identified that would otherwise have gone undetected.
Vantage teledermatology is now QUIPP approved and has CQC registration confirmed.. Vantage is now ready to scale up to roll out the products across the UK . We expect the system to be widely applicable across Europe and US as cost containment pressures in healthcare grow. Further development for emerging markets where specialists are only available in big cities offers an opportunity to provide expert care to remote locations. Further indications are being investigated eg. woundcare and care in the community, as patients are pushed out of hospitals earlier and local authorities can no longer afford domiciliary care.
Vantage further development is still managed by the two founders, who developed the technology and have managed to get the product into proof of concept trials in the NHS. We have now engaged Jonathan Engler as CEO. Jonathan was a founder of Clinphone, and is a qualified doctor and barrister. The business has been funded by friends and family so far, and one of the founder investors, Anthony Angel formerly senior partner at Linklaters, and until recently MD of S&P is acting as interim CEO.
www.vantagedx.com
