Wireless specialist Sensium Healthcare has created a high-tech bandage that can be used for checking a patient's vital signs.
The SensiumVitals patch weighs only half an ounce and comes in the form of a regular bandage, according to Discovery News. The device works by attaching it to a patient's chest, enabling it to take readings every two minutes. It can send data not only to a nurse's station, but also to handheld devices. Different factors the gadget can monitor include heart rate, temperature and respiration.
Sensium, based on Oxford, U.K. said if readings go over certain pre-set thresholds, the wireless patch can send notifications about the issue to nurses.
The adhesive patch is disposable and comes with a battery life of five days.
Positive results were produced in the patch's test last year at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., the Delhi Daily News reported. Tests have been run for the invention on over 50 patients at Spire Healthcare's Montefiore Hospital in Brighton since the end of May.
"The key advantage of the system is the frequency of the data sent automatically from the patch- it keeps nurses up to date with all their patients, so they can manage their workload more effectively," said Lynette Awdry, matron at Montefiore Hospital.
The bandage has also been on trial at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, since the end of May.
The technology is seen by nurses as a great tool to use for delivering more effective care.
Lynette added that the patch's capabilities allow nurses to "spend time with patients who might need more immediate attention, safe in the knowledge that if there is a sudden change with another patient, they can respond immediately."
