Body worn device monitors dialysis patients
Hidalgo has launched the Equivital EQ02 LifeMonitor, which incorporates a miniaturised body worn device – designed on a 'wear and forget' principle – that senses, records, processes and transmits physiological data such as ECG, respiration rate and body temperature. Using external sensors, the LifeMonitor can also record variables such as oxygen saturation, galvanic skin response and core body temperature.
"Having the ability to measure and model physiological information about the human body will lead to a better understanding of cause and effect behaviours and catalyse an era of more proactive and personalised healthcare," explained Dr Ekta Sood, clinical director at parent company Hidalgo. "Hidalgo is developing devices and software which can do this in real time so that, in the future, timely and appropriate action can be taken if patterns of data from the person under observation changes."
The devices are being used in healthcare and pharmaceutical field trials. In one project, funded by Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust and run by a team at Churchill Hospital and Oxford University, the LifeMonitor is being used to monitor haemodialysis patients.
For more on medical electronics, see the 14 February issue of New Electronics.
