Ebola Virus

The non-profit healthcare Scripps Health will lead a consortium of four companies to develop a turnkey system to wirelessly monitor possible Ebola patients, providing full-time acquisition and analysis of vital biometric measures. Sotera Wireless develops wireless vital sign monitors, Rhythm Diagnostic Systems also creates wireless sensors, m and PhysIQ makes personalize predictive analytics (PPA) technology.

The wireless sensors provide more data than is derived from the standard measurements taken by healthcare workers at set intervals. This provides more granular data, so trends and changes can be spotted much sooner, even before symptoms become apparent. The PhysIQ system uses machine learning to analyze data for individual patients, developing a baseline of what is “normal” for that person rather than relying on generalized population data. And the wireless sensors reduce the risks of the disease being transmitted to healthcare workers.

The system is called STAMP2, and the system has been nominated for a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Plans are underway to develop and field test the system, which will include ruggedized computers, smartphones, and tablets to accept and process the wireless data from the patients. This project presumably could also form the model for a system that could be applied anywhere in the world for other outbreaks of disease.