When a patient is in a hospital, the nursing staff and other healthcare professionals monitor their vital signs for indications of changes in their health. Patients in Intensive Care settings get around-the-clock monitoring, but for the average patient, vital signs are taken just a handful of times throughout the day. This takes up a lot of time on the part of the staff, and can still miss transient events or rapidly changing conditions until they result in major symptoms.
RAPID stands for Real-Time Adaptive & Predictive Indicator of Deterioration, and is a system developed by Isansys Lifecare. It consists of a number of different wireless sensors, including the Lifetouch device that measures heart activity (ECG) and uses Bluetooth LE to forward the data to a gateway at the patient’s bedside. Other sensors include pulse oxymeters and blood pressure monitors. This data is then sent to a system developed by McLaren Applied Technologies where it is analyzed and the results posted on dashboards for use by nurses and other healthcare professionals. The system provides a detailed view of a patient’s condition over time, and can issue alerts if changes are detected that require immediate response.
The system is being used as a pilot project at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the U.K., where it is being used to monitor sick children. The program will have 500 patients by April 2016, and has an overall goal of serving 1,200 patients over the three year project.
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