Patients who need ongoing monitoring of chronic conditions must shoulder the burden of frequent doctor visits. Many patients also require the use of cumbersome and sometimes embarrassing equipment for remote patient monitoring (RPM). KeeSense, a groundbreaking new smart T-shirt developed by Chronolife, offers a comfortable and discrete option for continuous monitoring of patients during everyday activities.
A washable and reusable garment, the KeeSense T-shirt contains a variety of sensors and electrodes. The embedded technology provides continuous electrocardiography (ECG) and ongoing monitoring of thoracic and abdominal respiration, pulmonary impedance, physical activity, and skin temperature.
The garment transmits data to a smartphone app via Bluetooth, and the app forwards the data to the patient’s healthcare provider via a secure server. KeeSense gives providers much more data than a “snapshot” vitals reading obtained during an office visit, improving remote monitoring outcomes while enhancing patient adherence to RPM requirements.
Based in France, Chronolife specializes in artificial intelligence and digital health. KeeSense integrates with Chronolife’s innovative, predictive algorithm known as Hierarchy Of event-based Time-Surfaces (HOTS). The algorithm detects significant health deterioration and events that may result in severe complications and then alerts healthcare providers.
The KeeSense platform achieved a Class IIa medical certification from the European Union at the end of April. The garment earned the Conformité Européenne (CE) mark, allowing promotion of KeeSense as a wearable medical device in European markets.
In addition to remote monitoring of heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and other conditions, KeeSense generates a robust stream of real-world data useful for medtech and pharmaceutical research. And KeeSense data streams are currently benefiting a pan-European clinical study of the HOTS algorithm.
Remote patient monitoring is bound to play a much larger role in the “new normal” of healthcare. Products like the KeeSense can provide healthcare professionals with enhanced insight into patients’ long-term health. Smart garments could potentially shorten emergency response times and reduce hospital readmissions. RPM technology may also help ease ongoing burdens on limited healthcare staff and resources during the Coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
