Do you remember when a cellphone came in a small suitcase? If you don’t, your parents surely will! Well, the FDA has just approved an “ICU in a suitcase”. Containing an integrated ventilator with CO2&O2 monitoring, ECG, invasive pressure monitoring, non-invasive blood pressure monitoring, low and high rate infusion pumps with a fluid warmer… But that’s not all. It also measures temperature, pulse rate and blood oxygen saturation, and it has…
… data storage and transmission system, unified control-and-display unit, and hot-swappable batteries. Additional medical devices can be added using the Auxiliary Device Port and be controlled and displayed through the MedEx 1000. A USB Port provides connectivity to an external printer, and allows for a connection of a USB flash drive to off-load (download) logged data. An Ethernet Port allows for Local Area Network (LAN) connectivity. The unit can accept external sources of both electrical power and oxygen
And it all weighs less than 40 lbs.
It is no wonder the FDA took less than 60 days to approve this device’s application request. Further quoting the press release from Integrated Medical Systems, Inc. (IMS):
…the company’s new modular integrated architecture will serve as a basis for an entire product family of scalable, customizable integrated solutions, and includes the first centralized control – as well as the first remote control – of multiple medical, data and utility capabilities. Just like systems integration transformed the automotive, aerospace and computer industries, the company is at the forefront of transforming healthcare through systems integration. We believe this innovative system addresses a large unmet clinical need to support continuous patient care,” said Adam Seiver, MD, PhD, Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery Medical School, Stanford, former Director of Surgical Critical Care at Stanford Medical Center, and a member of company’s Board of Advisors.
Initial deliveries of the MedEx 1000 are expected in the first quarter of 2009. IMS expects to have a CE Mark by fall 2008, permitting marketing and sales in Europe.
Product page: MedEx 1000…
Press release: Integrated Medical Systems Receives FDA Clearance for World’s First ‘Suitcase’ Intensive Care Unit…