Occupancy Sensors Add Value to Nurse Call Systems

Generally, monitoring of patients in hospitals is conducted only in the case of critical conditions using very expensive equipment with contact sensors. Such bed alarms are not available in every hospital, and thus they are used for only a limited number of patients. At the same time, there are some groups of patients that require greater attention and constant vital signs monitoring, yet they often do not receive care because the number of patients far exceeds the capacity of medical staff. Inadequate patient monitoring and the lack of medical alert devices in hospitals may lead to other situations, including patients who fall out of bed. The rapid deterioration and even sudden death of some patients remain undetected.

The following patient groups are at risk:

• post-surgical patients (including those not yet recovered from anesthesia),
• burn victims,
• patients with skin diseases,
• newborns (including prematurely born infants),
• the elderly,
• other sedentary patients who require vital signs monitoring.

Bed Alarms and Bedside Monitoring

Bedside monitoring based on the Bed Watcher sensor enables contactless surveillance and round-the-clock monitoring of vital signs for burn patients and those suffering from skin diseases who, due to the nature of their injuries, can not bear electrodes to be attached to their bodies.

It is also possible to install the bedside monitor and a bed alarm for sleep study in order to detect sleep apnea conditions.Using bedside monitors and medical alarm devices in health facilities improves the quality of medical care and allows the staff to work more effectively.

Vital Signs Monitoring from the Nurse’s Station

This system is a hardware-software solution; composed of the network of Bed Watchers connected to the data server and terminal at the nurse’s station. With integrated bedside monitors and medical alert devices, the system is capable of watching over multiple patients; detecting their presence in bed, their activity level, characterizing their sleep periods, and performing the necessary vital signs monitoring on a 24/7 basis.

The system alarm sounds in case of abnormal situations such as the unauthorized leaving of bed or respiratory arrest during sleep. The system’s development and deployment is fully customized in accordance with the requirements of each particular medical institution. Thus extra and extended features can be implemented upon request to custom fit institutions.

Medical alert devices. Understanding Biological Age of Blood Vessels

Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) indirectly describes the stiffness of arteries: the stiffer arteries are, the bigger the pulse wave velocity will be. When the heart contracts it generates a pulse or energy wave that travels through the circulation. The speed of travel of this pulse wave is related to the stiffness of the arteries. Arteries stiffen as a consequence of age and atherosclerosis. The two leading causes of death in the developed world, myocardial infarction and stroke, are both a direct consequence of atherosclerosis. Increased arterial stiffness is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. NanoPulse has developed a new non-invasive approach to measure Pulse Wave Velocity. We can demonstrate a fully functional device prototype for you.

Medical alert devices. Non-invasive Pneumothorax Detection

Today a pneumothorax can only be detected by using expensive stationary equipment such as a CT-scanner or X-ray. NanoPulse is currently working on a case study to investigate the potential of detecting a pneumothorax by scanning the body with UWB signals. The company has already created a working prototype and conducted several clinical trials in Europe. At present, we are working on improving the device taking into account the results of the clinical trials and the latest achievements in microelectronics.

The NanoPulse Pneumothorax Detector is a portable device for detecting air in the pleural cavity of patients in the field. An enormous challenge in the medical world today, is the ability to detect a pneumothorax at an early stage, and/or at the place where the patient's injury occurs. Car accidents and combat duty are typical sites for this condition. If a pneumothorax is not detected in time it may lead to the patient's death, because the lung collapses and the patient is unable to breathe. This can be the result of incorrect transportation and insufficient vital signs monitoring.