WEARABLE MEDICAL DEVICE STREAMLINES PATIENT CARE

PANORAMA // SUMMER SPRING 2020 // No. 72 73
PROJECTS
WEARABLE MEDICAL DEVICE
STREAMLINES PATIENT CARE
TOTAL INVESTMENT
EUR 4 617 460
EU CONTRIBUTION
EUR 2 308 730
Scientists in Belgium and the Netherlands have
created a wearable device that monitors hospital
patients’ vital signs in real time. Developed in the
cross-border ‘wearIT4health’ project with ERDF
funding, the monitor makes hospital stays more
comfortable and frees busy nurses and doctors
to focus on care.
The small wireless device improves monitoring and
follow-up of patients in hospital who are not already
under constant watch in emergency and intensive care.
Hospital patients are often connected to an array of different
machines, each checking on a different vital sign. The wear-
IT4health device measures five signs at once – heart rate, oxygen
saturation, respiratory rate, blood pressure variation and skin
temperature. It then sends the readings straight to the hospital
patient’s records.
Because the device is portable and needs no cables, it is more
comfortable and convenient than traditional monitoring. Staff
can transfer people between departments without needing to
disconnect and reconnect machines. Patients have more freedom
to move around the hospital while remaining safely monitored.
Supporting staff
Its convenience also extends to record-keeping. The device
simplifies collection, logging and analysis of patient data.
Nurses no longer have to record readings from many different
machines throughout the day, giving them more time for care
and medical tasks. Doctors can quickly check the readings in
the central records, add comments or edit the file to keep
only the most important data.
Processing features organise the mass of data to help medical
staff to make the best decisions for patients. The device
calculates an early-warning score (EWS) from the readings
to alert doctors if something is amiss. A more advanced predictive
warning system is being developed to signal more
specific risks of serious problems such as heart attacks.
Commercial collaboration
The wearIT4health device has been designed to be compatible
with the IT systems of different hospitals in the Euregio
Meuse-Rhine region, which crosses parts of Belgium, the
Netherlands and Germany.
Hospitals and technology companies in the region created
the system, while doctors and nurses approved its specifications
to make sure that it reflects the reality of healthcare
work. Medical, business and legal experts also advised the
project team.
Following lab tests to ensure that the device is secure
and meets medical standards, it has been tested on around
60 patients in different hospitals in the Meuse-Rhine region.
Once wearIT4health partners are confident that the prototype
is ready, they will transfer the technology to a company
to carry out the final development for commercial production.
SMEs and technology transfer offices throughout the
cross-border region are helping here to ensure a smooth
transition to market and patient care.
FIND OUT MORE
http://www.wearit4health.com/
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