TELUS is excited to announce a new partnership with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Canada’s largest and leading center for heart health, and Badal, a prominent provider of cloud and data analytics services recently acquired by TELUS. This collaboration will enhance the Sayhut app—a secure, privacy-compliant smartphone application designed to expedite diagnosis for patients experiencing heart attacks caused by blocked arteries.
Sayhut aims to improve communication between first responders, emergency physicians, and interventional cardiologists, enabling real-time review and decision-making. This is crucial, particularly for ST-elevated myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), the most severe form of heart attack, where every second counts. Delays can lead to greater heart muscle damage and reduced chances of recovery. Canadian guidelines recommend that STEMI patients be diagnosed and treated within two hours for optimal survival chances. However, less than 5% of hospitals can perform the necessary procedures, leading to patient transfers and delays, with less than 50% receiving timely care. Inefficiencies in communication between hospitals can result in false alarms and diagnostic delays.
Dr. Hassan Mir, an academic cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, notes, “The timing of care in heart attack patients is crucial. Our research shows that implementing Sayhut in selected Ontario regions has significantly improved care timing and accuracy, saving valuable time and hospital resources. We are hopeful that this digital innovation will enhance communication and patient referrals across Canada and beyond.”
Sayhut facilitates the immediate transfer of patient data via the app, allowing medical teams to securely send electrocardiogram (ECG) images to nearby hospitals. This enables quicker diagnoses and better patient outcomes while ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations. Initially developed by Drs. Hassan Mir and Talha Syed and supported by Badal, the app has been rolled out in Ontario hospitals and is expanding to additional facilities across Canada.
Currently deployed in 15 southwestern Ontario hospitals, Sayhut has already improved care timing by nearly 15 minutes and reduced inaccurate diagnoses and transfers by over 10%. Recent funding from the Ontario Centre of Innovation has allowed for its expansion into three more large hospitals in Ottawa.
A significant aspect of the app’s infrastructure is the cloud technology designed by Badal, utilizing Google’s cloud platform. Badal, a 2024 Google Services Partner of the Year in Canada, specializes in customer-focused cloud infrastructure and joined TELUS in 2023. TELUS is also working to scale the technology for broader use in Canada and internationally.
Jayne Landry, SVP Industry Products and Technology at TELUS, stated, “By partnering with Badal, TELUS continues to advance its mission of using technology to enhance business, consumer, and patient outcomes. The Sayhut app exemplifies digital transformation in healthcare, improving efficiency, accuracy, and performance, ultimately benefiting patients.”
Zohaib Butt, founder of Badal, added, “We recognize the critical role of data and cloud technology in driving efficiency in Canada’s highly regulated sectors. By integrating Google Cloud Platform and AI, we are advancing healthcare technology to improve patient outcomes and set new standards for excellence.”
The team is also working on incorporating AI to further enhance the app’s capabilities using Google’s Cloud AI technology. This development aims to create models trained on thousands of ECGs and medical frameworks to assist in timely and accurate heart attack identification. These models will help prioritize communication and patient transfers based on AI analysis of ECGs, though the app is designed to support, not replace, medical professionals’ expertise and judgment, ensuring that final diagnoses and treatment decisions are made by qualified healthcare providers.
