The future of paediatric healthcare is here
We are on a mission to increase accuracy and access to lumbar punctures in young children
What is a lumbar puncture?
Also known as "spinal taps", lumbar punctures are invasive, but incredibly crucial procedures performed in hospitals with many purposes.
When a child presents to the emergency room with a fever, they will be considered for a puncture to see if they have meningitis. A long & thick needle is inserted into a baby's back to extract their spinal fluid for testing.
Another example is in leukaemia wards, where babies will get their spinal fluid tested daily to monitor the cancer's spread. The procedure is also used to inject therapeutic or anaesthetic drugs.
1 in 2
1,2,3
Lumbar punctures end in error when performed on newborns . This occurs due to factors outside of the clinician's control, no matter how skilled they are.
Clinicians often have to perform more than one punctures on the child, leading to immense pain and displeasure to all involved. A complete procedure can take up to an hour.
Performed "blindly"
Paediatricians we talk to often describe the current procedure as if they are inserting the needle in blind due to its difficulty.
Even though ultrasound imaging can be used to increase confidence, the practice has not been readily taken up due to hurdles in training and resources.
Reinforced inequity
4,5
Low resource areas often cannot afford to diagnose a child with suspected meningitis or other deadly diseases .
Smaller hospitals often have to transport the child to another facility with clinicians who can perform lumbar punctures, incurring costs, complications, and uncertainty.
What are the problems?
Our solution
The LumVi - A guidance system that predicts safe puncture paths and presents them in an intuitive way for ease of performing
Enhanced by AI
Artificial intelligence isn't here to replace specialists - it is here to complement them. We leverage the advances in AI to streamline cumbersome steps in lumbar punctures, freeing up clinicians' time and hospital resources to focus on other tasks such as treatment management, triage, and follow-ups.
Intuitive
We work extensively with clinicians to design a device that is easy to use and can fit into their workflow effectively. The experience of clinicians and patients is our utmost priority.
Not only will the LumVi make lumbar punctures easier to perform, it will also help more young clinicians get the necessary training & experience in a way that is safe and controlled.
Our team
Chief Operations Officer
Michelle Callow
BSc (Hons), MSc Imperial College London
MBA, University of Melbourne
Chief Executive Officer
Shelby Holland
BA, Colgate University
ME (Biomedical with Business), University of Melbourne
PhD Candidate (Supply chain management), Monash University
Chief Technology Officer
Mara Quach
BBmed, ME (Biomedical, with Distinction)
PhD Candidate (Medical imaging)
University of Melbourne
"This would seriously have a positive impact on resource allocation in rural areas"
Lead Emergency Department physician, central New York, USA
Together, we can bring babies
accessible care, no matter where
Our partners
We thank Mr Stephen Ho for his fundings toward our initial prototypes, and Melbourne Business School's SEMBA class of 2003 for their generous award for our device.
Vause Medical is proud to be a member of MedTech Actuator Accelerator's 2022 cohort
Contact us
If you are interested in learning more about Vause Medical and our product, please contact us at:
info@vausemedical.com
425 Smith St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia
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Reshi, Z., Nazir, M., Wani, W., Malik, M., Iqbal, J., & Wajid, S. (2017). Cerebrospinal fluid procalcitonin as a biomarker of bacterial meningitis in neonates. J Perinatol, 37(8), 927-931. doi:10.1038/jp.2017.73
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Nigrovic, L. E., Kuppermann, N., & Neuman, M. I. (2007). Risk factors for traumatic or unsuccessful lumbar punctures in children. Ann Emerg Med, 49(6), 762-771. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2006.10.018
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Flett, T., Athalye-Jape, G., Nathan, E., & Patole, S. (2020). Spinal needle size and traumatic neonatal lumbar puncture: an observational study (neo-LP). European Journal of Pediatrics, 179(6), 939–945. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-020-03580-0
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Domo, N. R., Nuolabong, C., Nyarko, K. M., Kenu, E., Balagumyetime, P., Konnyebal, G., . . . Afari, E. (2017). Uncommon mixed outbreak of pneumococcal and meningococcal meningitis in Jirapa District, Upper West Region, Ghana, 2016. Ghana Med J, 51(4), 149-155. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29622828
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Zunt, J. R., Kassebaum, N. J., Blake, N., Glennie, L., Wright, C., & Nichols, E. (2018). Global, regional, and national burden of meningitis, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol, 17(12), 1061-1082. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(18)30387-9