EverOn™ heart and respiration monitor, featuring a distant (under the mattress) sensing unit, from Israel’s EarlySense Ltd. has been granted FDA marketing approval, according to the Globes.
From the technology page over at EarlySense:
EarlySense™ empowers medical systems to bridge the critical time gap between sudden patient deterioration and clinician intervention. In light of the Joint Commission`s 2008 Patient Safety Goals for healthcare organizations, EarlySense technology is a timely and comprehensive solution for facilitating compliance with these requirements, while also enabling nurses to focus on the patients who need their immediate attention…
The EarlySense technology is composed of a unique sensing unit (a single plate with multi-technology mechanical sensors) and a control unit that integrates signal intake and sampling, signal processing and display, and various alert outputs. Once placed beneath a bed mattress, or between the mattress and pad, the sensing unit immediately self-activates whenever the patient is in bed. The data that are continuously filtered, sampled and analyzed can be stored, and if desired can be presented later in for off-line clinician analysis.
Multiple levels of patented and patent-pending technology:Contact – free sensing of multiple physiological parameters Advanced algorithms for early detection of deterioration Integration of contact-free sensing with existing monitoring modalities
Designed for any indoor environment (hospital, clinics and homes), the EarlySense system performance is equivalent in accuracy with current Gold Standard patient monitors. The sensor unit performs equally well in chairs and wheelchairs and is disposable to maintain a high standard of hygiene.
Potential applications which are currently in research include monitoring patients in general floors and/or acute care settings, evaluating changes in respiratory or heart rate patterns, detecting early-warning signs of asthma attacks, COPD and CHF deteriorations.
In preliminary results recently published EarlySense has demonstrated specific detection of asthma exacerbations 1-2 nights before they take place.