Compal Subsidiary Aco Healthcare Partners with NTUH to Deploy Handheld Ultrasound, Slashing Diagnostic Lag by 1,353 Minutes
2026-05-19
Aco Healthcare (奔騰智慧生醫), a smart medical subsidiary of electronics giant Compal Electronics, has concluded a critical Institutional Review Board (IRB) clinical trial in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine at National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).
- Clinical Trial Architecture: Commanded by NTUH professors Dr. Liu Chun-jen and Dr. Chiu Han-mo, with Dr. Chuang Pi-chun serving as Principal Investigator at the NTUH Hsinchu Branch, the single-center, time-stratified, cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluated Aco Healthcare’s proprietary Apache neo handheld wireless ultrasound system within gastroenterology and hepatology inpatient consultation workflows.
- Key Efficiency Metrics:
- Time-to-Image: The handheld ultrasound arm achieved an average imaging acquisition time of 596 minutes, compared to 1,949 minutes in the standard-of-care arm utilizing traditional cart-based radiology scheduling—representing a massive reduction of 1,353 minutes (approx. 22.5 hours).
- Diagnostic Accuracy & Intervention: The Apache neo achieved an 87.5% overall diagnostic accuracy rate when compared against subsequent high-end stationary ultrasound configurations. Remarkably, the rapid bedside scanning data directly altered clinical management decisions early in 1 out of every 8 scanned patients.
- Length of Stay (LOS): The intervention group demonstrated an accelerated discharge trend, reducing average hospital stays from 22.6 days down to 18 days. In the sub-population presenting with abnormal liver functions, the integration cut LOS significantly from 26.2 days to 18.4 days while maintaining identical clinical safety and mortality endpoints.
- Global Recognition: The trial’s data readouts were selected for the prestigious Poster Tour at Digestive Disease Week 2026 (DDW 2026) in the US, validating the system as an essential tool for resilient healthcare infrastructure amid global nursing and specialist shortages.
Resource:仁寶子公司攜台大醫院 導入手持超音波提升流程效率