AZtrauma helps Narva Haigla tackle diagnostic delays and clinician shortages

Since 2023, Narva Haigla in Estonia has enhanced its commitment to faster, more accurate trauma care by integrating AZtrauma, part of AZmed’s Rayvolve® AI Suite, into its clinical workflow. The AI solution is FDA-cleared and CE-marked, and helps clinicians detect bone fractures, dislocations, and joint effusions faster and start treatment sooner, improving patient care and optimizing processes.

Julia Reinas, Senior Radiographer at Narva Haigla, shared her commentary on the AI solution from her perspective.

“AZtrauma has been used for trauma care at our facility for almost two years now. It started with a clinical trial that received very positive feedback from the surgeons and traumatologists at the hospital. After that, the decision was made to implement trauma AI into our workflow.”

“The AI solution serves emergency department doctors particularly well, especially those who are not traumatologists. The system enables doctors to detect subtle or occult fractures that are often difficult to identify. They do not need to wait for a radiologist’s evaluation. AZtrauma serves clinicians by showing suspicious areas, which helps them concentrate their evaluation on possible problems.”

"The system provides doctors with crucial assistance for their decision-making process and leads to improved patient results by enabling faster treatment. Narva Haigla has also integrated AI analysis directly into its imaging system (Pildipank), streamlining access for clinical teams."

She concluded, “Our vision for this collaboration is to further refine AI-assisted diagnostics, making them an integral part of our hospital’s workflow. We are looking forward to trying other AI protocols from AZmed.”‍

Estonia maintains 154 radiologists per million inhabitants, above the EU average of 127. However, the rising complexity and growing number of imaging studies create continuous pressure on radiologists¹. The current healthcare system of Estonia faces major challenges regarding clinician workload. Medical specialists throughout the country need to take on multiple employment positions because healthcare requirements exceed available staff². The region of Ida-Virumaa faces the worst clinician shortage in the country.

AI solutions such as AZtrauma serve as a strategic answer to these challenges. By accelerating bone fracture detection, the system improves medical services while reducing staff workload³.