Telemedicine Archive

Monday, June 29, 2009

ecg@home Personal ECG Monitoring Helps Clinicians Stay On Top of Patient Status

HealthFrontier out of Branchburg, New Jersey teamed up with et medical devices SpA, a Vignate, Italy firm, to create a simple remote wireless ECG monitoring device. The ecg@home features two thumb electrodes (i.e. the standard I lead), and a wireless transmission of the data out to a central server via Bluetooth, USB, or a cell phone network. In order for the device to work, the company says the patient needs to rub his fingers with the K2 solution for better contact

Features from the product page:

* Monitor the patient over the long-term with a substantially decreased impact on quality of life.
* Catch events that only appear irregularly, with the secondary benefit that patients can now feel at ease that they will be able to capture their worrisome cardiac events
* Keep care of the patient in-house, and it allow them perform their own interpretation and analysis of the ECG strips if they so desire, or use an in-house technician if one is available.
* If the physician does not desire to interpret the readings, a third-party service can send the analyzed scans minutes after the reading is taken.
* Monitor the effects of changes in medication
* Access all the patient’s historical ECG readings with the click of a mouse through the RHMS, eliminating the need to search through a library of paper-chart printouts.

* Take ECG readings with far more speed than the 12-lead option
* Through the RHSM, readings can be quickly interpreted either on-site or by a third party scanning service, and returned to the originating facility in minutes.
* Determine the impact and effectiveness of the existing therapy regimen, and adjust regimen.
* Use the analyzed reading in deciding whether the patient requires emergency care.
* This solution offers tremendous saving potential by enabling the decision-maker keep patients out of the hospital when their conditions are non-critical, and to provide prompt medical attention when serious medical conditions are present.

Product page: ecg@home

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Piix Wireless Home Cardiac Monitoring to Undergo Randomized Trial

Corventis, a maker of wireless CHF monitoring devices that measure heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, fluid status and activity, and West Wireless Health Institute, a research organization promoting wireless technology use in medicine, have teamed up to conduct multi center clinical trials of the Piix device, a monitoring gadget we have profiled before.

From the press release:

Corventis' remote monitoring wireless system was approved by the FDA in February 2009, which sets up the potential for a multicenter, randomized clinical trial. The trial will be spearheaded by the West Wireless Health Institute and led by Dr. Eric J. Topol, the Institute's chief medical officer. Dr. Topol is also chief academic officer at Scripps Health and holder of the Gary and Mary West Chair of Innovative Medicine.
Participation in the pivotal randomized trial with WWHI and Corventis will be offered to the sites supported by the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) National Consortium, which consists of 38 of the most prestigious academic medical centers in the United States. The trial is designed to clinically validate remote wireless monitoring technology in proactively managing heart failure patients and reducing hospital readmissions.

Press release: West Wireless Health Institute Teams with Corventis for its First Multicenter, Randomized Clinical Trial...

Links: West Wireless Health Institute; Corventis technology...

Flashback: PiiX Monitors for Signs of Decompensated Heart Failure...

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Telemedicine Helps Monitor Parkinson's Symptoms in Patients

This technology might come in handy to those who don't want to haul their sick relatives with Parkinson's all the way to a clinician for visual observation of the progress of disease. To test whether telemedicine is an appropriate option for getting patients and physicians together, and whether the technology is good enough to observe resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, postural instability, and other symptoms of Parkinson's, doctors Kevin Biglan and Ray Dorsey from University of Rochester Medical Center enrolled a group of elderly Parkinson's patients from the Presbyterian Home for Central New York into a pilot study that has yielded promising results.

The University of Rochester explains:

Patients are brought to a room in the nursing home with a flat screen television so they can see the physicians.All the doctors in Rochester require on their end is a computer equipped with a web camera.Telemedicine “visits” are just like regular office visits and consist of an update on the patient’s health, a review of medications, any potential complications, and a standardized motor skills evaluation (balance, gait, coordination, and stiffness) conducted by the physician with the assistance of a trained nurse at the Presbyterian Home.At the end of the visit, recommendations are discussed with the patient and faxed to the nursing home.
An initial pilot project, funded by the Presbyterian Home, followed 14 patients for 6 months and then evaluated the outcomes of those who received telemedicine care with those who did not.The study found that telemedicine patients had significant improvements in quality of life and motor function.In addition, those receiving telemedicine had trends toward higher satisfaction with their care.

The project with the Presbyterian Home was so successful that Joseph decided to continue funding the effort for another year with the help of a grant from New York State. Dorsey and Biglan also hope to expand the project to other nursing homes in upstate New York.One of the key obstacles to the wider adaption of telemedicine for Parkinson’s and other diseases is payment for services.While studies of other projects have shown that telemedicine can reduce the overall cost of care, current reimbursement is limited to specific regions (for example, it excludes New Hartford as not sufficiently rural) and generally does not cover the cost of care provided.

Press release: Telemedicine Expands Reach of Care for Parkinson's Patients...

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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

HealthPAL Gets FDA's OK; Wirelessly Connects Providers With At-Home Devices

The FDA has given MedApps, a Scottsdale, Arizona firm, 510(k) market clearance for the firm's HealthPAL wireless medical device monitor. Featuring built-in mobile phone technology and the ability to connect to common at-home medical devices via a cable or wirelessly via Bluetooth, the system is designed to provide continuous uploading of patient data to a central server for analysis by clinicians.

From the product page:

HealthPAL automatically collects data from compatible, off-the-shelf, medical monitors using a smart cable or wirelessly via Bluetooth. The data is then transmitted using embedded M2M (GSM) cellular chip (and soon CDMA) technology to be received by HealthCOM, MedApps' full-featured, web-based portal for health care providers.
About the size of a cell-phone, the HealthPAL is ultra-portable for maximum mobility and its low cost enables remote monitoring to be available to large patient populations. It is considered to be the ultimate in simplicty. While it has buttons for special features and set-up, during daily operation the reading and data transmissions are COMPLETELY automated. The patient does not push any buttons, navigate any screen commands or touch the HealthPAL in any fashion.

HealthPAL is currently approved for use in conjunction with glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, weight scales, pulse oximeters and pedometers. As additional approvals are received, MedApps looks forward to expanding its capabilities to include the recording and transmitting of data from INR monitors, ECG, Peak Flow, CPAP, spirometers, O2 concentrators and more.

Press release: MedApps Receives FDA Clearance on a New Way to Bring Cost-Effective Remote Health Monitoring to More People...

Product page: HealthPAL...

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Monday, May 18, 2009

ECG Interfaces With Wireless Devices Over Body Area Network

Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has developed a wearable ECG with a combined temperature and posture meter. The data is wirelessly sent to an external device, like a smart phone, for analysis, which then can be passed on to a clinician when certain events are detected. Interestingly enough, the system uses cardiac data and posture to generate cryptographic keys that are used for sending the data out.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Mobile Clinical Imaging On a Smart Phone

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis adapted a small ultrasound prove to interface with a Microsoft Windows mobile smartphone. Although the screen may be too small to diagnose anything properly, it is thought the concept will be used to scan a patient away from the clinic, with the data wirelessly sent to physicians with large screen computers for evaluation.

In order to make commercial USB ultrasound probes work with smartphones, the researchers had to optimize every aspect of probe design and operation, from power consumption and data transfer rate to image formation algorithms. As a result, it is now possible to build smartphone-compatible USB ultrasound probes for imaging the kidney, liver, bladder and eyes, endocavity probes for prostate and uterine screenings and biopsies, and vascular probes for imaging veins and arteries for starting IVs and central lines.

"You can carry around a probe and cell phone and image on the fly now," said Richard [William D. Richard, Ph.D., WUSTL associate professor of computer science and engineering]. "Imagine having these smartphones in ambulances and emergency rooms. On a larger scale, this kind of cell phone is a complete computer that runs Windows. It could become the essential computer of the Developing World, where trained medical personnel are scarce, but most of the population, as much as 90 percent, have access to a cell phone tower."

Zar [David Zar, research associate in computer science and engineering] said the vision of the new system is to train people in remote areas of the developing world on the basics of gathering data with the phones and sending it to a centralized unit many miles, or half a world away where specialists can analyze the image and make a diagnosis. Zar wrote the phone software and firmware for the probes; Richard came up with the low-power probe electronics design. He began working on ultrasound system designs 25 years ago, and in that span he has shrunk the electronics from cabinet-sized to a tiny circuit board one inch by three inches. A typical, portable ultrasound device may cost as much as $30,000. Some of these USB-based probes sell for less than $2,000 with the goal of a price tag as low as $500.

Another promising application is for caregivers of patients with Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy. A degenerative disease that often strikes young boys and robs them of their lives by their late 20s, DMD is a degenerative disease for which there is no cure. The leading treatment to slow its progression is a daily dose of steroids. Patients often experience some side effects from steroids, which are dose related. These side effects include behavioral problems and weight gain. Researchers now know that physical changes in muscle tissue can indicate the efficacy of the steroids. Measuring these changes in muscle can be accomplished with ultrasound and may allow researchers to optimize steroid dosing to maximize efficacy while minimizing side effects.

"The idea is that caregivers, who otherwise have to transport a young person, often wheelchair bound, to a hospital or clinic on a regular basis for examination, can be trained to do ultrasound to track muscle condition," Zar said. "This could lower the dosage to the least effective amount to further increase quality of life of the patient and the caregiver and hopefully extend life. We're really excited about this application. The caregiver would only have to do a one-minute scan, transfer the data captured to the clinic, and the results would come back to the caregiver. A group at the WUSTL Medical School studying Duchene's Muscular Dystrophy is very interested in our devices and hopes they can incorporate them into their research plans."

Full story: Ultrasound imaging now possible with a smartphone ...

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Sleuth AT Transoma's New Implantable Wireless ECG Monitor Gets US OK

Transoma Medical, out of St. Paul, Minnesota, has received FDA approval for the company's new wireless implantable cardiac monitor. The Sleuth AT™ can wirelessly communicate with a personal device carried in a pocket or purse, or with a home base station that can automatically contact patient's physician if an abnormal rhythm is detected.

Here's a more complete description of the system from Transoma:

The Sleuth AT Cardiac Monitoring System includes the Implantable Loop Recorder (ILR), the Personal Diagnostic Manager (PDM), the Base Station and a 24/7 Monitoring Center operated by Medicomp, a leader in cardiac monitoring since 1981.

The Implantable Cardiac Monitor is a small, thin device, about the size of a 50-cent piece (or the size of the smallest pacemakers), which continuously monitors the electrical activity of the heart, the ECG. The cardiac monitor is implanted under the skin during a brief, simple, outpatient procedure.

The Personal Diagnostic Manager (PDM) is a hand-held, multipurpose device that automatically retrieves and stores relevant ECG data from the implanted cardiac monitor, securely relays the information to the base station and then to the monitoring center. The PDM is also used by the physician to program the implanted cardiac monitor.

Data are collected in three ways:

Patients who experience symptoms, such as lightheadedness, can press a button on the PDM which tells the system to store the patient's ECG strip during the time of the symptom.

The system automatically captures and stores the ECG strip when the patient's heart rate is above or below physician-programmed limits.

The system can be programmed to capture regular ECG strips every 4 hours, 15 minutes or 7.5 minutes

At the third-party Monitoring Center, certified cardiac technicians review the patient's ECG data and provide information to the physician to aid in diagnosis and ongoing treatment. Physicians can access this information via a secure Web portal, and have the reports faxed or e-mailed to them as they prefer. If the cardiac technician observes a particularly concerning arrhythmia, the patient's physician will be contacted immediately.

Press release: Transoma Medical Receives FDA Marketing Clearance For Sleuth AT™ Implantable Cardiac Monitoring System

Flashback: Sleuth™ Wireless Electrocardiogram Monitoring System

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Thursday, February 5, 2009

IBM Links At-Home Medical Devices with Google Health

Under the guidance of the Continua Health Alliance, an industry group promoting compatibility between medical devices and online health systems, IBM has developed a set of interface tools for Google Health. Using the new package, at-home medical devices, such as glucose meters and blood pressure monitors, will be able to stream live data directly into Google Health's personal health record management system. This data can then be accessed in real time by medical professionals and family caretakers for immediate analysis.

From the press release:

IBM integrated the capabilities of Information Management, Business Intelligence and the WebSphere Premises Server sensor event platform with Google Health. The new IBM solution will be able to:
Support a wide variety of use cases, including chronic disease management, health and wellness, and elderly care, both in the United States as well as in countries and health-services enterprises around the world.

Leverage the power of Services-Oriented Architectures, so that the partners can quickly build increasing volumes of flexible solutions for healthcare consumers and services providers based on modular components.

Support the rapid growth of open standards through the power of the Continua Alliance, which is dedicated to enabling interoperable healthcare products and solutions.

Support the development of solutions using the Google Health open platform.

Press release: IBM Teams With Google and Continua Health Alliance to Move Data From Remote Personal Medical Devices Into Google Health and Other PHRs

Continua Health Alliance...

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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Nintento to Introduce New Wii Check-Up Channel

Nintendo, in partnership with Hitachi, NEC, and Panasonic, is announcing the upcoming release of a new health channel for the Wii entertainment system. Though the press release is in Japanese and the automatic translators are having trouble digesting the news, it seems that the new system will allow players to meet with some sort of healthcare providers and to securely send them data from the Wii for individual analysis.

Auto translated press releases: With developing the remote healthy guidance basic system which cooperates "Wii Fit"; The specific hygienic guidance system is supported with Wii Developing "the check channel which is from Wii Fit" Electrical machinery and appliances manufacturer compared to in for health insurance union from April start of offer

Monday, November 10, 2008

Intel Health Guide Undergoing Trials

According to Planetary Gear, a blog at CNET, Intel has announced a number of pilot programs to test the company's recently approved Health Guide PHS6000 device (see our previous post: At-Home Monitoring Solution from Intel ). The unit, coupled with enterprise software, allows patients to communicate via video and voice with their health care providers, manage data from at-home diagnostic devices, and receive relevant information about their conditions. The company is partnering with Aetna, Scan Health Plan, Erickson Retirement Communities, and the Providence Medical Group in Oregon to enroll patients and physicians to assess the benefits and challenges of the telehealth system.

Some basics about the device from Intel:

The Intel Health Guide is a comprehensive solution, combining an in-home patient device, as well as an online interface allowing clinicians to monitor patients and remotely manage care. The solution offers interactive tools for personalized care management and integrates vital sign collection, patient reminders, multimedia educational content and feedback and communications tools such as video conferencing and e-mail. The Health Guide can connect to specific models of wired and wireless medical devices, including blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters and weight scales. The Health Guide stores and displays the collected information on a touch screen and sends to a secure host server, where health care professionals can review the information. Patients using the Health Guide can monitor their health status, communicate with care teams and learn about their medical conditions.

More about the trials from CNET's Planetary Gear...

Report from Wall Street Journal: Intel Takes Step Into Home Health Care...

Intel Health Guide PHS6000 product brochure (.pdf)...

Intel Personal Telehealth Overview ...

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Monday, October 20, 2008

Dyna-Vision Monitoring from RS TechMedic

Ivor Kovic, our former editor, has interviewed CEO of RS TechMedic, a Dutch medical technology company currently specializing in remote monitoring of patients. He posted the interview over at his new blog. The company recently introduced the Dyna-Vision device that performs cardiac monitoring and transmits the data via the cell phone network to a doctor's office. Moreover, the firm just announced during the interview that they are releasing an application that can receive mobile transmissions and display the data on an iPhone.

From the interview:

Currently one of your major products is Dyna-Vision. Tell me a little bit more about it and the ways it differs from similar products on the market?
Dyna-Vision is developed with the latest available technologies. What we often see is that other companies are “upgrading’ existing products to be used for telemedicine. We are convinced that this is not the best solution. We created a wish list of physicians and their patients and developed a new technology based on these requirements. This is a different strategy and makes that we can offer the most recent technology.

We are a bit careful with making comparisons as Dyna-Vision as we really see Dyna-Vision as a new “type” of products and not as one of the existing ones. Our device gives you 3, 5 or 12 lead ECG, Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability, RR-time, Plethysmogram, Oxygen Saturation and Pulse Transit Time.

Basically, the device creates a data file to be used in different software for analyses. Currently we certified 4 packages: Cardio, Monitoring, Health and Fitness and Research. This makes Dyna-Vision a multi-purpose device. Physicians can use Dyna-Vision for different indications optimizing there return-on-investment.

Dyna-Vision is the first and only device in the world with an integrated mobile phone. With this connection the recordings are transmitted to a remote server for analysis by a physician. This process is fully automated so there is no action required by the patient to transfer the data. A physician can download the recordings for analysis from anywhere at any time. Also, we offer the unique feature of real-time remote monitoring. For example, a patient has symptoms and contacts the physician who can simply login to the server to monitor the actual streaming parameters on a computer !

The rest of the interview at Ivor Kovic's blog.

A somewhat long winded video demonstrating the device:

Press release (PDF)

Dyna-Vision product page...

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Telerays: Auctioning Medical Care

Radiology has long been at the forefront of telemedicine, and now it is paving the way into another area of medicine...auctions! Enter Telerays radiology auction service, where batches of studies are auctioned off to the radiologist with the lowest bid. That doesn't sound very reassuring until you read through the company's reassuring credentialing process.

The radiologists are recruited from across the US in what appears to be a win-win proposition. For physicians, the Telerays system allows for as much or as little work, when and where they want, while simplifying billing arrangements. For hospitals, it adds access to radiologists, including sub-specialists (that may not be available in a smaller center) while potentially allowing for cost savings as well.

From the press announcement by Telerays:

Houston-based Radiologist Daniel Roubein, M.D., founder of Telerays says “Teleradiology was a radical step for the industry, but now serves requests on a routine basis. It provides a safe, easy way to find quality talent at fair prices. And it gives control back to the radiologists to set the fees and accept the cases they want."
His first step was to credential radiologists nationwide and he has had great response…500 inquiries after one week. Telerays’ processes are HIPAA compliant and protect all private health information. Credentialing can take from seven to 30 days and there is no membership fee for doctors or clients. Only radiologists pre-approved by the hospital and imaging centers and fully credentialed with Telerays can bid on the contracts.

To start the bidding process, clients post their requests and all radiologists pre-qualified by them receive an email invitation to bid. The lowest bidder wins the contract, downloads the cases and uploads the final radiology reports. There are no possible delays in diagnosis because the bidding process is settled months in advance “The system has advantages for all parties,” said Dr. Roubein. “Hospitals and imaging centers benefit from market competition that gives them the best price for radiology interpretation services at any given time. By having access to a larger qualified network of radiologists, hospitals and imaging centers can negotiate a better price. There are cost-savings before the bidding even starts as we eliminate the preliminary report,” he added. Telerays provides only final reports.

For radiologists, Telerays reduces the middleman cost and gives a larger portion of the interpretation fee back to the doctor. Most services take up to 50%; Telerays takes 15% and also handles billing.

Telerays' News Release (.pdf) ...

Telerays' website...

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Thursday, October 9, 2008

eCardio eVolution Cardiac Monitor

eCardio Diagnostics, a firm from The Woodlands, Texas, is launching what it calls a "single-component" cardiac monitor called the eVolution^sm. The device is essentially a Holter-type of monitor designed to record rare arrhythmic episodes associated with transient symptoms such as palpitations or syncope. The data is then transmitted to a monitoring center for review via a telephone line or wirelessly.

From the company:

The device provides continuous computerized monitoring by means of a micro-processor running an exclusive auto-detecting algorithm. This technology delivers real-time data analysis, allowing physicians to discover both symptomatic and asymptomatic arrhythmias with speed and precision.
In addition, the eVolution(SM) offers:

A Single Component System, eliminating the cumbersome monitor, modem and base station associated with traditional ambulatory cardiac telemetry systems;

Flexibility for physicians to remotely program the device while being worn by the patient;

Customized parameters to more effectively monitor changing patient conditions or specific patient requirements; and

Convenience for patients with minimal interruptions to the patient's daily routine.

Press release: eCardio Launches the eVolution(SM)

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Wednesday, October 1, 2008

EU Green Lights BIOTRONIK's Monitoring System

The European Union has given approval to BIOTRONIK's latest home monitoring system for wireless communication between implantable devices and physicians back at the clinic.

From the press release:

Over seven years ago, BIOTRONIK was first to develop and introduce, an internet-based remote monitoring system using the GSM telephone network and the only cardiac device manufacturer to make this technology available across its entire product portfolio of pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices allowing physicians to remotely monitor their patients’ clinical and device status from anywhere in the world. In fact, BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring is the only system available on the market that enables remote device follow up at any time.

Continuing its leadership in pioneering telecardiology, the newly approved BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring platform leads the industry in technological advancements. BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring has integrated a traffic-light, severity-based display of patients’ status to easily identify the most important information with just one click, allowing physicians to quickly review the clinical status of patients at a glance. The system provides one continuously updated and consolidated online CardioReport which includes physicians’ acknowledgements and review actions to minimize alert notifications to the most clinically relevant. Easy to read clinical information, including heart failure and atrial fibrillation diagnostics, an intracardiac electrogram, IEGM-Online HD®, (a tracing representing the heart’s electrical activity similar to an ECG but taken from inside the heart) as well as information related to device integrity is automatically available on the BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring system. Physicians can also customize alert-parameters on an individual or group patient basis, via the secured website, to ensure consistent patient triage. In addition, using BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring physicians and clinics can establish collaborative care management networks to optimize cardiovascular patient coordination and to enhance workflow efficiencies within one or more clinics.

Press release: The new BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring® Approved in Europe...

Product page: BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring...

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

Heart Guard Promises Early Warning System for Cardiac Patients

United Press International is reporting that an "inexpensive, real-time heart activity monitor may soon be available for patients to monitor their own condition, researchers in Latvia said." So we went ahead, and checked out what the fuss is all about. Predictably, just like many other projects from Europe, the Heart Guard is a European project, code named EUREKA project E! 3489. Truth be told, EUREKA is an intergovernmental European initiative, that's big on promises, but short on real output. The pages of Medgadget rarely see anything concrete from EUREKA in terms of medical technology.

Integris Ltd. from Riga, Latvia, the company behind the Heart Guard, explains the device's workings:

The basic idea of the project was to develop a user-friendly miniature wireless ECG recording and transmitting device (WERTD), and real-time ECG analysis and warning system (AWS), based on ordinary PCs or Pocket PCs for a patient's individual use.

Disturbances of heart function can be monitored and analysed with special software.

This new device is user friendly, it works at least 24 hours without the need to recharge batteries and allows patient to roam up to 30m from AWS (for example at home or hospital).

In the proposed system, the monitoring of three orthogonal Frank ECG leads is possible, as the conversion of these to conventional 12 ECG leads. It provides an opportunity for carrying out a more detailed analysis of ischemic changes in the heart as well as rhythm analysis.

Intelligent monitoring software contains ECG signal pre-processing, and events on ECG recognition and measurement parts. The recognised cardiac cycles will be analysed with two programmes. The first programme carries out the detection of conduction disturbances and ischemic ECG changes, which take place during various syndromes of coronary heart disease, such as stable angina pectoris, unstable angina pectoris and myocardial infarction. The second programme will be used for detection and analysis of rhythm disorders and unstable conduction disturbances.

Project page: Heart Guard...

Project brochure (.pdf) at EUREKA...

Eureka: Early warning system for cardiac patients...

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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Dräger Rolls Out New Portable Wireless Monitor

Dräger Medical is introducing a new mobile telemetry device for adult and pediatric patients. The device, designed for on the floor monitoring, is touted to support hospitals "in their initiatives to mobilize patients as early as possible in order to accelerate the healing process."

In addition to monitoring ECG and SpO2, the device has built-in algorithms to enhance ECG processing and reduce false alarms – such as pacer detection software and ACE® (Arrhythmia Classification Expert), an arrhythmia analysis tool.
Infinity M300 can run on a hospital’s existing 802.11 b/g network – saving the expense of requiring a separate wireless network for the telemetry system.

Infinity M300 addresses the three major challenges of telemetry monitoring. The first is viewing patient information at the patient’s side. Unlike traditional telemetry devices which have no screen, Infinity M300 has a color display that shows the patient’s ECG for all monitored leads, heart rate, SpO2, and electrode status – enabling the clinical staff to access monitored data and react promptly without having to go to the central monitoring station. The display also shows patient demographics to help confirm the patient’s identification before giving medication, taking blood samples, or performing treatments.

The second telemetry challenge is hearing and responding to alarms. InfinityM300 has built-in alarming and alarm controls, which provide alarm alerts both at the patient’s side and the Infinity CentralStation, Dräger’s central monitoring workstation. The built-in display helps the clinician assess alarms and respond accordingly.

The third challenge of telemetry monitoring is the cost and effort associated with disposable batteries. Infinity M300 has a built-in battery, which can be recharged via a bedside charger while the patient is wearing the device, or at a multi-device charger at the central monitoring station.

Press release: Dräger announces first implementation of new wireless Infinity® M300 patient-worn monitor (.pdf)...

Product page: Infinity® M300

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Decision Making Using Telemedicine in Acute Situations

Lancet Neurology just published a study examining the benefit of using a two-way telemedicine platform, rather than a telephone, for hospital staff to consult with a physician regarding a patient's condition after a suspected stroke.

Here's a video example of one of these consultations:

Abstract in Lancet Neurology...

(hat tip: Wired Science)

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Cisco on Telemedicine

Cisco Systems is trying to get healthcare to embrace telemedicine in all its forms, and they posted a podcast discussing how far the technology has come and where it is going (all thanks to network routers of course).

Download Podcast - Video in Healthcare Then and Now (MP3 - 12:05 min)

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Wireless Health Monitoring Comes to Life

Tele-monitoring health devices are becoming quite the rage these days, seeing how wireless technologies and standards have matured. A&D Medical is taking advantage of the trend and will begin offering under their LifeSource brand a blood pressure monitor, a body weight scale, and an "activity monitor" (probably a standard pedometer), all of which send their data to a computer through a USB stick.

From the press release:

A family of three products are being unveiled, including the Wireless Automatic Blood Pressure Monitor, Wireless Precision Scale, and Wireless Activity Monitor. Utilizing FitLinxx, Inc.'s proprietary wireless technology all of the Wellness Connected products will be linked to provide users a comprehensive picture of their wellness. A complete record of blood pressure, weight, and activity transmits to a user's computer automatically, where custom software saves and charts daily progress. Consumers can also conveniently send data to Actihealth(TM) internet service for enhanced functionality, to access their personal wellness information from anywhere, and to share their progress with family, friends, support groups, and medical professionals

Press release: LifeSource(R) to Unveil New Telehealth Technology at 2008 NACDS Conference

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