Spain’s oldest hospital embraces digital age with smart solutions
Huawei Technologies’ data storage solutions allow Sant Pau in Barcelona to advance research in AI-driven medical image-guided therapy
Spain’s oldest hospital, first established in Barcelona in 1401, has constantly evolved over the years, with its current home completed only in 2009.
The purpose-built Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul) stands next door to its spectacular former home, dubbed “the city within the city”, which is listed by Unesco as a World Heritage site.
The historic, Catalan Art Nouveau or Modernista-style park complex of 27 buildings set amid trees and gardens, was constructed from 1902 to 1930 to meet the last century’s more exacting demands for scientific medicine and hygienic principles. It is now a museum.
However, its changes have not only been aesthetic and architectural; Sant Pau hospital has always been quick to embrace healthcare advances including new medical techniques; it was the nation’s first hospital, for example, to offer neurology treatments.
The hospital is continuing to adapt to new healthcare trends, including the increasing benefits to the industry created by the global introduction of smart digital solutions, including cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI).
Medical records of patients, for example, which have been made by various doctors over the years at different clinics and hospitals, could be centralised and made readily accessible by digital storage to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment. It may eventually eliminate the need for repeat tests.
