Monitoring patient ventilation is important for those on a mechanical ventilator, but once natural breathing is restored clinicians typically lose their ability to watch for changes in the volume of air the patient is moving per minute. Respiratory Motion Inc., a company out of Waltham, MA, just received FDA 510(k) clearance to introduce its ExSpiron non-invasive ventilation monitor to U.S. hospitals.
The system can be used after little training by any clinician by simply applying the monitoring patch to the chest and connecting it to the electronic monitor. The device automatically begins watching the lungs and displays continuous readings on its color monitor. The company will be presenting the device next week at the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) annual conference in Washington, D.C.
From the announcement:
Respiratory depression can occur partly in response to medications, such as narcotic painkillers and sedatives commonly administered after surgery. Given the strength of these medications and the fact that each patient’s response is unique –respiratory depression can strike even when least expected. Averting respiratory failure via early detection canreduce catastrophic events, improve patient care and outcomes, decrease healthcare costs, and save lives.
ExSpiron’s industry-unique combination of respiratory metrics was designed to provide continuous, accurate quantitative readings of Minute Ventilation (the amount of air that enters/leaves the lungs every minute) never before continuously captured in non-ventilated patients; respiration rate (breaths per minute); and tidal volume (the volume of airin a single breath). The system is also clinically practical and patient-friendly. Monitoring can be performed by nurses, physicians or other healthcare clinicians by simply applying a chest sensor to the patient, after which data is generated continuously and automatically.”
The addition of Minute Ventilation data and its trending over time provides new objective metrics to assist clinicians in the immediate evaluation of the pulmonary system and demonstrates changes in respiratory status.
Product page: ExSpiron…
