In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is a significant burden on patients, their families, and the healthcare system as a whole.
The European Resuscitation Council's (ERC) guidelines emphasize the critical role of early identification of patients with deviating vital signs. Patients admitted to unmonitored general wards, in particular, are at risk of deteriorating unnoticed by ward staff. Prior to an IHCA, vital signs appear to deteriorate in up to 80% of patients.
Technological advancements have supported the application of remote, wearable, and wired technologies to promote continuous vital signs monitoring and increased personalized patient care, catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heart monitors are classified into numerous types:
A Holter monitor is a wearable device that continuously records an electrocardiogram (ECG) for 24 to 48 hours. Newer versions of this type allow continuous monitoring for weeks.
A cardiac event monitor is similar to a Holter monitor, however, it is intended for long-term surveillance of uncommon symptoms. Heart patients can wear these pager-sized gadgets for extended periods of time – generally 30 days – and use them to record heart activity as symptoms arise. The ECG can be sent by phone to the patient's healthcare team on some devices.
A looping memory monitor records your ECG before and during your symptoms.
A cardiac monitor patch is a piece of adhesive that is placed on the chest.
The symptom event monitor is a portable or wearable gadget that detects and records symptoms in the chest.
The implantable looping monitor is a heart activity recorder the size of a pager that is implanted under the skin of the chest for up to three years.
People can now collect and communicate ECG data to their healthcare providers using smartphones and wearables. Other wearable devices having ECG capabilities have been approved by the FDA.
Recognizing the deteriorating inpatient remains a challenge for high-paced hospitals. Wearable monitoring systems (WMS) have the potential to supplement current monitoring practices but not replace them. Previous evidence suggests that the focus on non-critical care settings is due to WMS's inability to replace continuous monitoring, which is commonly used for high-dependency patients.
WMS, on the other hand, provides an intermediate level of monitoring between continuous high-dependency monitoring and intermittent manual measurements, with the potential to aid in the detection of early deterioration in high-risk patients. A recent meta-analysis examined the impact of multi-parameter continuous non-invasive monitoring in hospital wards, including wired static devices, and found that monitored patients had a 39% lower mortality risk compared to those receiving standard care (intermittent manual observations). It also discovered a decrease in intensive care unit (ICU) transfer, rapid response team (RRT) activation, and hospital length of stay (LoS).
The ViSi Mobile system is a wrist monitor that is designed to provide continuous surveillance (24/7) utilizing machine learning from millions of hours of patient data. This device is FDA-approved and has already been tested in numerous hospitals across the globe.
The ability to detect changes in a continuous non-invasive blood pressure measurement is critical in detecting early physiological deterioration. This new version of the software includes improved detection algorithms that allow machine learning to monitor the blood pressure profile while also improving patient setup and parameter limits.
Additionally, the ViSi Mobile System monitors more vital signs other than just monitoring heart rate, continuous non-invasive blood pressure, SPO2, pulse rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, ECG, posture, arrhythmia, and fall detection. ViSi is an all-in-one, continuous vital signs monitoring system. Learn more about its features by scheduling a demo below.