Final year projects (Baccalaureus Theses) (Industrial Engineering)

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Browsing Final year projects (Baccalaureus Theses) (Industrial Engineering) by Author "Uys, Nina"

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    A health systems engineering approach to meeting the demand for skilled foetal ultrasound services in the Boland/Overberg public health district
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010-10) Uys, Nina; Van Dyk, L.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Industrial Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In its Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations prioritizes the improvement of maternal health in developing countries. The World Health Organization argues that this can be done through improving the accessibility and quality of basic maternal health care, which includes ultrasound services. In South Africa, many clinics and hospitals have ultrasound machines, but there is a lack of skilled personnel to operate them and to provide safe and meaningful service. The purpose of this project was to find an optimal combination of technology and business processes to meet the sonography skills shortage in South Africa in a sustainable way. Alternative solutions to educating a nurse or midwife at a rural clinic in sonogram acquisitioning and interpretation were investigated. The technological requirements for each were identified. An information and communications technology audit was then done to determine if these solutions are technologically feasible. All of the systems were deemed feasible. These solutions were then tested for their economic feasibility through an analytic hierarchy process. From these two feasibility studies, the most feasible solution was an asynchronous tele-ultrasound system. This system was developed by the Biomedical Engineering Research Group and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OB/GYN) at the University of Stellenbosch, in collaboration with the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. The system is composed of a portable ultrasound machine, a laptop and a server. It was evaluated in 2008 by a midwife in South Africa and three OB/GYN specialists in the United States of America. The midwife had low-level pre-existing ultrasound knowledge and interpretation skills. The legal requirements for the implementation of the system in a Boland/Overberg public health district clinic were evaluated. Next, through process reengineering, the new system was designed to be incorporated in a typical consultation between a nurse and pregnant patient. Finally, the scheduling requirements to ensure the success evaluation and safety of the system were done. It was found that overall this system is feasible within the Boland/Overberg health district. Further studies were recommended for the further implementation of the system.