TELUS partners with Ottawa heart institute on app

OTTAWA – TELUS has announced a collaboration with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Badal, a leading provider of cloud and data analytics services recently acquired by TELUS. The partners will deploy advancements to the Sayhut app – a secure, privacy-compliant point-of-care smartphone application that helps to reduce diagnostic time for patients who may be experiencing a heart attack due to a blocked artery.

Sayhut enables instant transfer of patient data via the app, allowing medical personnel to securely send electrocardiogram (ECG) images to care teams at nearby hospitals, leading to quicker diagnoses and better patient outcomes.

The app improves the speed and accuracy of communication between first responders, emergency doctors and interventional cardiologists at regional cardiac centres, enabling real-time review and decision-making.

Known as the deadliest type of heart attack, an ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a total or nearly total blockage of a coronary artery, which supplies blood to the heart. Every second of delay during an attack causes more of the heart muscle to fail, diminishing chances of a full recovery. Canadian guidelines recommend a STEMI patient be diagnosed and receive treatment within two hours for the best chance of survival.

Yet less than 5 per cent of hospitals nationwide can perform the procedure for treatment, necessitating transfer of patients between hospitals and resulting in less than 50 percent receiving timely care. This is further exacerbated due to inefficiencies in interhospital communication, resulting in false alarms and delays in diagnosis.

“The relationship between care and survival in patients experiencing a heart attack can be measured in minutes,” said Dr. Hassan Mir (pictured), now an academic cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. “Our research demonstrates how implementation of the tool in select regions in Ontario has significantly improved the timing and accuracy of care, freeing up valuable time and hospital resources. Our team is optimistic about the potential of this digital innovation to streamline communication and patient referral pathways in communities across Canada and beyond.”

The Sayhut application complies with relevant data privacy regulations, ensuring that patient information is transmitted safely and securely. Originally conceived by Drs. Hassan Mir and Talha Syed and implemented across hospitals in Ontario with the support of Badal, the app is now expanding to more hospitals and networks across Canada.

Implemented in 15 hospitals in southwestern Ontario, the app supports the treatment of thousands of patients. Early evaluations have demonstrated a significant improvement in the timing of care by nearly 15 minutes and a reduction of inaccurate diagnoses and transfers by over 10 percent. Recent funding from the Ontario Centre of Innovation has enabled the implementation of the app in three additional large hospitals in Ottawa.

A key component of the current and next iteration of the app is the cloud infrastructure designed by Badal, leveraging Google’s cloud platform.

Winner of the 2024 Google Services Partner of the Year Award in Canada, Badal builds customer centric cloud infrastructure and joined the TELUS family in 2023. TELUS is also collaborating to help scale the technology for expanded deployment in Canada and internationally.

“With Badal, TELUS is furthering its commitment to leverage technology as a transformative tool to improve business and consumer outcomes, and in this case patient outcomes,” said Jayne Landry, SVP Industry Products and Technology at TELUS. “Harnessing the power of data, analytics and the cloud is pivotal to our mission of driving innovation and delivering exceptional service. The Sayhut application is a great example of digital transformation within the healthcare industry, enhancing efficiency, accuracy and performance, and ultimately bettering the lives of patients.”

“At Badal, we understand the critical importance of using data and cloud technology to drive operational efficiency in Canada’s most highly regulated industries,” said Zohaib Butt, founder of Badal. “By leveraging the Google Cloud Platform and AI, we are integrating cutting-edge technology into Canada’s healthcare system to achieve better patient outcomes and setting new standards for healthcare excellence in Ontario and beyond.”

Development is underway to incorporate AI and enhance the app’s capabilities by leveraging Google’s Cloud AI technology, an approach that Badal is taking not just for Sayhut, but also across various initiatives at TELUS Health to improve patient outcomes.

The team plans to design models, trained on thousands of ECGs and existing medical frameworks, to assist in the timely and accurate identification of heart attacks. Once built, the models will support medical personnel by prioritizing communication and patient transfer based on the AI’s review of the patient’s ECG.

It is important to note, however, that the app is designed to augment, not replace, medical professionals’ expertise and judgment, ensuring that final diagnoses and treatment decisions remain firmly in the hands of qualified healthcare providers.

About the University of Ottawa Heart Institute
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute stands as one of Canada’s most distinguished heart health centres for the unparalleled care it provides to its patients, a world-renowned research institute that brings science from bench to bedside, and the country’s main influencer when it comes to preventing heart disease. Its promise remains the very pillar on which it was built: Always putting patients first. For more information, please visit ottawaheart.ca.