London: Electronics giant Philips is
all set to create a sensor bed that keeps a close watch on the health
of heart failure patients. One of the aims of the ‘My Heart’ project –
funded by the EU – is to help spot heart problems several days before
they become life threatening, say reports.
The new initiative
results from health experts’ belief that the need for emergency hospitalization
may be reduced if beds and clothing are equipped with
such devices that monitor heart patients’ condition.
Philips
will install an electronic weight scale and blood pressure monitor in
the new bed. The devices to be packed in the bed will also include
sensors that measure heart rate, breathing rate, and body movements
while sleeping.
The
new bed has sensors to measure heart rate, blood pressure, breathing
rate, etc; data collected can be transferred via a telephone or
broadband connection
Besides, the patient could wear a vest with woven-in electrodes that provide a
full electro-cardiogram reading.
The
information gathered through such devices would be analyzed on a PDA,
and the results sent via a telephone line or broadband connection to
doctors.
People involved in the project say that the device
could even provide clues to interrupted sleep by measuring sleep phase
patterns.
However, Dr Nick Robinson, a member of UK’s Royal
Society of Medicine’s Telehealth forum, believes that it will be
difficult for doctors to accurately interpret the information gained
through such technologies.
“We are used to making decisions
based on taking a blood pressure reading on an occasional basis – and
all the evidence we have for intervening is based on this,” he said.
“The
real challenge for this technology is not taking the measurements, but
working out what to do with it, so that we are not constantly getting
false alarms,” he added.
Information regarding further tests or commercial marketing of the four-year
project was not released..
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