Monitoring

News • Self-administration of medication

Many patients use their inhalers and insulin pens wrong. An AI system could fix this

From swallowing pills to injecting insulin, patients frequently administer their own medication. But they don’t always get it right. Improper adherence to doctors’ orders is commonplace, accounting for thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in medical costs annually. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a system to reduce those numbers for some…

News • "Alexa, do I have an irregular heart rhythm?"

AI uses smart speakers for contactless cardiac monitoring

Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, have proven adept at monitoring certain health care issues at home. For example, researchers at the University of Washington have shown that these devices can detect cardiac arrests or monitor babies breathing. But what about tracking something even smaller: the minute motion of individual heartbeats in a person sitting in front of a smart…

News • Alarm system 'ELISE'

A digital 'co-pilot' for paediatric intensive care

Working in intensive care units poses special challenges for healthcare workers. They have to safely and reliably detect whether the condition of their seriously ill patients is deteriorating in a life-threatening way, and they have to do so under great time pressure because every minute counts. The stress level increases even more when the patients are children and adolescents. In paediatric…

Video • Wearable for blood pressure, heart rate, glucose and more

New patch monitors multiple markers at once

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can be worn on the neck to continuously track blood pressure and heart rate while measuring the wearer’s levels of glucose as well as lactate, alcohol or caffeine. It is the first wearable device that monitors cardiovascular signals and multiple biochemical levels in the human body at the same…

News • On the go

Improving wearables for medical applications

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of fatalities in Germany. Medical wearables which measure vital parameters such as the blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygen levels in real time could help detect these diseases early, and treat them on a preventive basis. In daily life and during sports activities, in the form of fitness bracelets or smart watches, these small, portable…

News • Decreasing infection risk

Researchers develop touch-free vital signs monitor

Scientists at Heriot-Watt University have developed a technique that monitors a patient’s vital signs completely touch free. By using a continuous wave radar-based system to sense tiny chest movements, the new method can accurately measure an individual’s heart rate and respiratory rate without the need for wires, probes, wearable technology or other skin attachments. It could also identify…

ECG without visits to a medical practice? Smart medtech enables new service models

The demand for more user-friendly ways to offer long-term ECG is growing and accelerated even more due to Covid-19. New devices and service models enable high quality ECG monitoring without patients having to leave their homes.

Breathing life into patient care

As a world leading manufacturer of medical devices, the subclassification of Contec Medical products includes numerous series for multi-parameter monitoring, ECG, oximeter, blood pressure, telemedicine health, respiratory sleep, and more. With the frequently increasing occurrence of respiratory diseases, Contec Medical reports on its great efforts in the research and development of related…

Article • MEDICA session

Wearable ultrasound sensors could support Covid-19 fight

Wearable ultrasound sensors can help patients monitor their lung health from their own homes. The potential application of this technology were outlined in a session at MEDICA 2020.

China’s top-of-the-range medical devices

Contec Medical Systems (Qinhuangdao) Co., Ltd., Stock Code: 300869 was officially listed on August 24, 2020. The company currently has a market capitalisation of more than 50 billion yuan.

News • Computer vision

Innovative hand hygiene solution uses AI

Russian tech company Connectome.ai is bringing its innovative Directiva.ai hand hygiene teaching and monitoring system to two major clinics owned by the European Medical Center group, the leading private healthcare provider in Moscow and the surrounding region.

Interview • Tectales

Humanising wearable health technologies

Designer Leah Heiss considers her work as creating “emotional technologies”, i.e. wearable devices based on human-centred design principles. For her, empathy is everything!

Remote cardiac monitoring

For cardiology patients fitted with an implantable cardiac monitor, cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker, home monitoring is a blessing. The system also has many advantages for medical staff, as Kristina Rauholt reports. The nurse and Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for Allied Professionals (CCDS) at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, in Sweden, has worked with home monitoring…

News • Wearable technology

Smart watches and fitness trackers: useful, but may increase anxiety

Is my heart beating slightly fast? Is a heart attack coming? I didn’t sleep as much as I thought I had last night – is that bad for my heart? Health apps and fitness watches can shed considerable light on how our bodies work and make recommendations for a healthy lifestyle. However, self-measuring can have a downside too, according to a new study that examined the experiences of 27 heart…

News • Infrared imaging

New imaging method to detect and monitor liver disease

It’s currently difficult to screen for certain liver diseases and to monitor these conditions once they’re discovered. A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently developed a non-invasive imaging method that has promising clinical potential to accomplish both goals. The technique is described in a study…

Article • Virtual consultations

COVID-19 pandemic boosts telemedicine in Spain

The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the use of telemedicine in Spain with an increase in virtual consultation and positive impact on workflow. The challenge will be to make these changes permanent, according to a panel of experts who took part in a conference last June in Barcelona. Spanish patients and healthcare professionals have widely accepted virtual consultation as a new alternative to…

Article • Wearables and apps in cardiology

Digital health: guardian angel or 'Big Brother'?

Cardiologist Professor Martin Cowie raised an important issue on the challenges of the digitisation of cardiovascular healthcare at the ESC Congress 2019 in Paris. In his presentation, he confirmed that, within digital health transformation, the role of physician and the patient-doctor relationship will continue. However, much of the preparation may be conducted remotely.

News • Heart failure monitoring

App detects fluid in the lungs via voice recordings

Voice analysis by a smartphone app identifies lung congestion in heart failure patients, allowing early intervention before their condition deteriorates. The small study is presented on HFA Discoveries, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). “Speech is personal and as such, very small changes (related to the same person) can be detected – for example, the ability…

News • Hemolysis monitoring

Measuring blood damage in real-time

Scientists at the University of Delaware and Princeton University have developed a method to monitor blood damage in real-time. “Our goal was to find a method that could detect red blood cell damage without the need for lab sample testing,” said Tyler Van Buren, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering with expertise in fluid dynamics. The researchers recently reported their technique…

Article • Reducing healthcare costs, optimising patient care

The potential of remote patient monitoring

The remote patient monitoring technology and devices market has attracted significant investment in the past decade and is growing at an extraordinary rate. Expected to reach around 28 billion euros by the end of 2023, this market is very attractive to many big name companies that want to be ‘connected’ such as Qualcomm Life, Inc., OSI Systems, Inc., Philips Healthcare, Abbott Laboratories…

News • Ultrasound monitoring

'Smart bra' to detect early-stage breast cancer

Students from EPFL in Switzerland teamed up with startup IcosaMed to develop the SmartBra – the first piece of smart clothing that can be used for cancer prevention. “Our smart-clothing technology is designed to detect cancer at the earliest stages. It uses a non-invasive, painless method based on frequent ultrasound monitoring,” says Hugo Vuillet, one of the students on the development…

News • Monitoring Covid-19 from the sky

A ‘pandemic drone’ to detect coronavirus infections

A ‘pandemic drone’ to remotely monitor and detect people with infectious respiratory conditions is being developed by the University of South Australia (UniSA) in partnership with a Canadian company. The drone will be fitted with a specialised sensor and computer vision system that can monitor temperature, heart and respiratory rates, as well as detect people sneezing and coughing in crowds,…

News • Development of a highly sensitive analytical workflow

Collaboration for infectious disease diagnosis and patient monitoring

Thermo Fisher Scientific and NanoPin Technologies, Inc. have entered into a collaborative relationship to advance blood-based infectious disease detection technology through the development of highly sensitive liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based workflows. Through the detection of disease-related antigens directly from patient blood samples, NanoPin's unique diagnostic platform…

News • Long-term placement in breast lesions

CE Mark for implantable RFID tag extended

Hologic announced the extension of the CE Mark for its LOCalizer radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag for long-term placement. The tag can now be implanted more than 30 days prior to a breast-conserving surgery, providing even greater flexibility and convenience to patients and providers. The LOCalizer wire-free guidance system is a non-radioactive, radiofrequency localization system designed…

News • Wireless spirometer & smartphone

'Asthma app' to improve self-monitoring

A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that a treatment adjustment algorithm based on lung function and symptoms in a mobile phone can be an efficient tool in managing uncontrolled asthma. For fuss-free measuring of lung function, the phone connects to a wireless spirometer and the app can register respiratory symptoms and provide visual feedback on treatment. The study is…

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