Six medical institutions in Kumamoto Prefecture begin operating the telemedicine diagnostic support system “XMIX”

~ Strengthening the acute care system for stroke~

Kumamoto Prefecture, utilizing the national budget revision for fiscal year 2012, formulated the Kumamoto Prefecture Regional Medical Revitalization Plan (fiscal year 2013 edition) in fiscal year 2013 to solve local medical issues such as securing doctors and medical collaboration in the region. One of its objectives is to strengthen the acute care system for strokes within the prefecture.

The flow from admission to transport (or treatment)

We are pleased to announce that on July 18, 2014, the telemedicine diagnostic support system “XMIX”, jointly developed by Kumamoto University Hospital (Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Hospital Director: Hidenobu Tanihara) and TRIART Ltd. (Iizuka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, CEO: Kentaro Imazu), utilizing the Kumamoto Prefecture Regional Medical Revitalization Plan (2013 edition), has been deployed in six medical institutions within Kumamoto Prefecture for emergency response to stroke patients.

The “XMIX” telemedicine diagnostic support system, which has been trialed since June 2012 at Kumamoto University Hospital and Aso Medical Center (formerly Aso City National Health Insurance Aso Central Hospital), allows specialists in remote locations to be contacted during hours when no specialist is on duty at the emergency transport of stroke patients. It enables viewing of the stroke patient’s imaging information on iPhones or iPads, allowing the medical institution that accepted the stroke patient to administer treatment with necessary advice from specialists. It’s an innovative system that has saved lives of stroke patients requiring quick diagnosis and treatment. We have achieved success with a system designed to save stroke patients who require particularly rapid diagnosis and treatment.

This time, Kumamoto Prefecture has expanded the deployment of the “XMIX” telemedicine diagnostic support system to six medical institutions within the prefecture, with the aim of saving the lives of as many stroke patients as possible. The medical institutions that have implemented our system are as follows. Furthermore, we plan to expand this system to other medical institutions in the future.

●Introducing medical institutions

  • ASO Medical Center
  • Kumamoto Medical Center
  • Kumamoto Saishun Medical Center
  • Kumamoto University Hospital
  • Minamata City Hospital and Medical Center
  • Yamaga Central Hospital

■System Overview
“XMIX” consists of iOS devices such as iPads and iPhones, along with a dedicated server system, using Apple’s FaceTime and a specially developed radiographic image information viewer for sharing information. This enables advice from specialists located in remote areas. Additionally, each communication path is secured with robust security through proprietary technology.

System Configuration Diagram

System Screen Image

■System Features
“XMIX” is designed to be implemented without modifying the existing medical information systems used at various medical institutions by carefully selecting its features. Until now, the implementation of telemedicine systems has been limited to large hospitals due to issues such as development costs and operational structures for integrating with in-house systems. However, “XMIX” has been designed to be easily implemented even in small and medium-sized medical institutions without specialists.

Comparison with Conventional Systems

■About Security
“XMIX” achieves a security level compliant with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Guidelines for the Security Management of Medical Information Systems, Version 4.2 (October 2013),” by applying the technology of XCOA (Cross Core) from TRIART Ltd. This technology enables encryption of communication paths, split communication, encryption of communication contents, time-limited caching within devices, and authentication systems.As a result, even if an iOS device is lost or stolen, it is impossible for unauthorized persons to view the information. Furthermore, even if the device is hacked, the information cannot be stolen.

About Security

*The mentioned company names and product/service names are trademarks or registered trademarks.