Contact-Free Continuous Monitoring is Protecting Staff Treating Patients from Virus Exposure

EarlySense, the global leader in contact-free, continuous monitoring solutions for the healthcare continuum, recently announced it's one of the strategic medical technologies being used by Israel’s Sheba Medical Center to help protect staff while monitoring isolated patients suspected of coronavirus exposure.

“We are doing our utmost to provide patients with quality care and comfort while minimizing the danger COVID-19 poses to our health practitioners and to the public,” Chief Medical Officer and Chief Innovation Officer of Sheba Medical Center, Eyal Zimlichman, says. “We are grateful to EarlySense for answering an open call from our ARC innovation center for technologies and providing its contact-free patient monitoring system. Together with additional protocols, we are well-prepared to care for our isolated COVID-19 patients.”

EarlySense’s contact-free continuous monitoring (CFCM) system tracks respiratory rate, heart rate, and movement without ever touching the patient. According to a report, the sensor, placed under the patient’s mattress, transmits real-time patient data for the early detection of clinical changes to a display outside of the patient’s room, limiting the need for staff to gown up and enter isolation areas. As a contact-free monitoring solution, there are no leads or other wearable devices to adjust or to touch the patient’s body.

“As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, health facilities are challenged to effectively care for patients while also keeping staff safe from exposure,” says Matt Johnson, EarlySense CEO. “Contact-free continuous monitoring addresses this balance, providing clinical staff with a full picture of patient health while effectively minimizing the need to enter isolated areas. We are prepared to help hospitals and skilled nursing facilities replicate what we’ve done with Sheba, for the care and safety of both patients and staff.”

Related: COVID-19 Case Report: No HCWs Infected, Most Didn't Wear N95 Masks 

Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer is the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East, and is ranked by Newsweek as one of the 2020 top 10 hospitals in the world.

To learn more about the EarlySense solution for isolation rooms please visit: https://info.earlysense.com/covid-19.

EarlySense technology is installed in more than 40,000 patient beds in hospitals and post acute care facilities. The EarlySense system is clinically proven to help prevent adverse events, the report says.

The EarlySense sensor actively monitors a patient’s cardiac and respiratory cycles, and notifies the care team of clinical changes which may be detected hours before an event becomes critical. As a result, adverse events are reduced, including code blue events which are a result of cardiac or respiratory arrest, preventable ICU transfers, patient falls, pressure ulcers, and hospital readmissions. The company holds several patents on detecting and predicting respiratory patterns and episodes, providing in-depth analysis of respiratory signal shapes for early warning of deterioration.