Early warning boost for intensive care patients
- Posted:
- 15:28 14 Feb 2005
The system from Oxford Bio Signals (OBS) was first used in prognostics products in aircraft engines and is installed in Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 aircraft.
A two-year trial of OBS Biosign patient monitoring technology at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford is due to end in June. The company, which is backed by Rolls-Royce, will then start clinical studies in Indianapolis, US.
The system monitors a patient's five vital signs of heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation.
Medical staff have used these data for more than 40 years but instead of setting a safety threshold for each parameter, in line with current practice, the software combines them.
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By applying algorithms and signal processing techniques to the data, and comparing it to population data, the system aims to predict a downturn in the patient's condition before any individual threshold is passed.
The US trial will include between 250 and 350 patients and will be conducted over 10 months.
