CHENNAI: Medio Tek Health Systems has launched a device that may prove to be a game changer in the delivery of healthcare. The device, VinCense Wireless Health Monitoring System (WHMS) is essentially a gadget that is worn on the wrist.
WHMS has three components: first being the physical device, second is an android application and the third is the web interface. The device wirelessly records parameters like body temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, Electrocardiogram (ECG), respiratory rate, blood glucose level etc. The wearable wrist device records the vital signs of the patient, and transfers it to a secure cloud application through internet. The same can then be viewed by doctors, if and when they are allowed access.
“If a patient is in pain, the device can also detect that, and also the degree of pain. If there is an emergency, an SMS alert will be sent to five configured numbers; it may be a doctor, a relative of the patient and or the ambulance service. The doctors can view the condition of nearly 500 patients at a time, even if he or she is miles away,” said Sharmila Devadoss (46), daughter of Prof A Devadoss, MD of Medio Tek Health Systems.
Work on the device began two years ago, with nearly 30 people working on it to make it successful. “The crux of the problem in delivery of health care today is the inability to monitor vital signs on a real time basis especially for people who suffer from chronic diseases, senior citizens and non-ICU patients. To avoid such emergencies, the WHMS was created and launched,” Sharmila added.
The product was launched by Dr Mayil Natrajan, chief orthopaedic surgoen, MN Orthopaedic Hospital. He said, “Trials show that this device is going to be very useful in the future. Today, hospitals are found lacking in providing good health care, and in the years to come, we will find this (device) is in every hospital.” Dr R G Chandramogan said that lack of communication has always been a problem, “this kind of technology will help overcome that problem. It will always help doctors and patients communicate well, despite geographical distances. There is a need for this in the future.”
Dr Jayashankar, director, Sundaram Medical Foundation, said, “SMF is happy to validate such a device, and this kind of device will be a real help to a hospital like ours.”