Philips Launches Biosensor-Enabled Monitoring Solution
By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq
Philips has unveiled a wireless, wearable, medical-grade biosensor designed to measure vital signs in low-acuity clinical settings. The device runs on clinical decision support software that alerts providers and caregivers when normal thresholds are exceeded, allowing them to respond to clinical events quickly.
The wireless device is capable of continuously monitoring heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and other parameters. It's designed for patients in low acuity hospital settings, such as the general ward, who are transitioning to home care to continue their recovery.
This new biosensor-enabled patient monitoring solution is part of Philips' plans to introduce a portfolio of integrated, interconnected solutions that utilize analytics and dashboards to provide clinicians real-time information to help them effect favorable patient outcomes, reduce costs, and improve access to care.
"Driven by Philips' strong patient monitoring heritage, we are entering the emerging growth market of mobile health enabled solutions and services," said Carla Kriwet, CEO of Patient Care and Monitoring Solutions at Philips, in a statement. "We envision a future where patients enabled by connected health technologies will recover faster with fewer complications and greater peace of mind in the hospital and subsequently at home. We see the potential for connected sensing solutions and the value created by the rich and actionable data they generate to have a very positive impact on the chronically ill by helping to reduce associated costly adverse events, complications, unplanned transfers back to the ICU and longer lengths of hospitalization."
According to Vital Connect, Philips has an existing range of cableless, wearable sensors on the market, including noninvasive blood pressure cuffs, arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) sensors, and respiration accessories. The sensors are part of Philips IntelliVue Guardian Solutions, which automatically generate acuity scoring so that nurses and physicians can be alerted when a patient is deteriorating.
The wearable device market is expected to be worth $41 billion by 2020, and startups and established companies alike are looking to tap opportunities in this promising sector. Philips, which is trying to focus on health technology, is already a major player, not only making wearables but complete monitoring solutions across the whole gamut of care.
For example, the company just launched a 510(k)-cleared, ICU-comparable, bedside quality monitoring solution that allows clinicians to monitor patients undergoing MRI scans without causing interference.
The MR400 monitors the same vital signs that are tracked in the operating room and in the ICU, including heart rate, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, body and surface temperatures, blood pressure, and advanced electrocardiogram (ECG), according to a press release. The MR400 connects wirelessly with electronic health records (EHR), and with Philips' IntelliBridge Enterprise to share data across the hospital network.
Interoperability across the network remains a challenge for hospitals and health systems, and one of Philips' solutions is a system that can integrate patient data from disparate sources seamlessly.
Working with Hitachi, Philips is creating a Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA), a universal data management solution in which medical images, documents, and other clinical data are archived in a standard format, allowing information to be rapidly accessed in a vendor-neutral manner. It's powered by Philips’ HealthSuite digital platform and will launch sometime in the second half of 2016.
The Philips HealthSuite digital platform also connects to smart devices and mobile apps to help people make healthy lifestyle decisions. Philips and Validic is collaborating to use the platform to process digital health data from clinical and remote-monitoring devices, sensors, fitness trackers, wearables and patient wellness applications.