Wearable Device Measures Heart and Respiratory Rates in Multiple Trauma Patients

Respiratory rate combined with other parameters such as heart rate and body temperature can indicate life-threatening conditions such as sepsis. However, respiratory rate is often neglected by automated monitoring systems.

Most of the existing wearable monitors focus mainly on heart rate measurement. Some of them offer measurement of respiratory rate, but the data would be less accurate. Moreover, they are inefficient in an emergency situation.

Cambridge Design Partnership, a leading technology and product design partner, has developed a wearable device that can used to measure and monitor the vital signs of multiple trauma patients for emergency response in disasters and battlefield situations.

According to the company, the First Response Monitor is specially designed to help doctors monitor both heart rate and respiratory rate.

The new technology is lightweight, robust and low-cost wearable biometric device. The device can collect and transmits data in real-time, enabling the medic to care for a greater number of casualties, providing more effective casualty triage to deliver improved patient outcomes.

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The small device clips onto a patient’s nose and gives ‘at a glance’ indication of both breathing rate and heart rate. The device, then, adds the data to a trends graph showing how these measurements have changed over time.

This enables the doctors to focus their efforts on providing care rather than taking measurements. It also enables the care giver to understand how the patient’s condition has changed over time. The data can then transmitted using Bluetooth.

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“At Cambridge Design Partnership we’re always looking for ways to find a solution to a clear, unmet need. With the First Response Monitor we’ve combined our expertise in wearable connected devices with our extensive medical experience to develop a technology for effectively measuring breathing and heart rate. The monitor can help save lives in a variety of environments and we’re really keen to speak to partners about developing the potential applications further,” said James Baker, Partner, Cambridge Design Partnership.

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Source-Medindia