Telehealth Monitor Could Reduce Hospital Visits and Save Money

We’ve written about telehealth (also known as telemedicine) before, both in the context of providing better care in rural areas and as a part of a managed care program. There is a wide range of emerging telehealth applications. Some systems focus on helping physicians make better diagnoses by enabling them to discuss situations and clinical test results, such as X-Rays or CAT scans, with one or more subject matter experts. A slight extension would allow patients to visit local clinics, be connected to monitoring equipment, and discuss the situation with their physician over audio/video links.

Extending telehealth applications out to the home, or to portable, around the clock, monitoring devices, opens up a whole range of extra possibilities, both for chronic or life threatening situations and for long term monitoring of conditions. A Japanese research team¹ is developing a portable vital signs monitor that can be comfortably worn 24 hours a day and that connects through the Internet to a remote monitoring service. It is similar in concept to the emergency call devices that some seniors already use, but with much more extensive capabilities.

The monitoring device transmits data through the cellular telephone network and on to a web database that a patient’s doctor and family can securely access via a standard browser. A monitoring program flags any problems for the patient’s family or doctor and sends them an emergency alert if necessary. The development device monitors pulse, temperature and waist size as follows:

• Pulse – the pulse sensor can detect arrhythmias in the heart by measuring both the pulse rate and the shape of the waves.
• Body temperature – this is a useful indicator of overall patient health. Significant deviation from the norm usually indicates a serious illness or problem.
• Waist size – the waist sensor is for long-term monitoring of the patient. It allows the doctor to check whether the patient is gaining or losing weight significantly.

The team is also developing a sensor and software for monitoring metabolic syndrome – a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

 ¹  “Design and implementation of a ubiquitous health monitoring system” in Int. J. Web and Grid Services, 2009, 5, 339-355 – Akio Koyama of Yamagata University and colleagues there, at Yamagata College of Industry & Technology and the Fukuoka Institute of Technology.