A wireless digital 'plaster' that can monitor vital signs continuously and remotely is being tried out with patients and healthy volunteers at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in a new clinical trial run by Imperial College London researchers.
Toumaz Technology Ltd's Sensium- digital 'plaster' or 'patch' is a disposable device that sticks to a patient's chest. It is designed to allow patients to have their health monitored continuously without being wired up to bulky, fixed monitoring machines, potentially freeing some patients from their hospital beds.
The digital plaster is based on innovative technology created by engineers at Imperial College London. It contains a wireless, smart, ultra-low power sensor platform in a silicon chip, which can monitor a range of vital signs like body temperature, heart rate and respiration in real-time.
The intention is that healthcare professionals will be able to download this information using a mobile phone, enabling them to pick up on any critical changes in their patients' status on a 24-7 basis and allowing early detection and treatment of any unforeseen complications.
The data can also be integrated automatically into the patient's electronic medical record.
The team that developed the Sensium- digital plaster from Toumaz Technology Ltd, a spin-out from Imperial College London, hope that it will enable some patients to recover from surgery and illness at home rather than in hospital. It should also mean that hospital in-patients have greater mobility. In addition, it could allow doctors to extend continuous monitoring of vital signs to a broader range of patients.
The disposable plaster has a working life of several days, after which it can be replaced, ensuring that infection control can be maintained.
Professor Chris Toumazou FRS led the team that developed the plaster and he is the CEO and co-founder of Toumaz Technology Ltd and the Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College London. He said:
"We think the digital plaster could revolutionise healthcare and we're really excited to see it being tried out with patients for the first time. Ultimately, the plaster could mean that doctors can keep track of any worrying changes in patients' vital signs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and then deal with any problems that arise really quickly. We think that fewer patients will have medical complications if doctors can spot health problems as soon as they arise and then treat each patient accordingly.
"We're hoping that the plaster will improve the health and wellbeing of a vast range of patients - from patients on a general hospital ward to people with chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease who want to have their health monitored without having to keep visiting the hospital. At the same time, the plaster should free up doctors and nurses' time by allowing them to keep an eye on patients without continuously checking bits of machinery," added Professor Toumazou.