What technology is used in RAPID?
The technology is called the Patient Status Engine (PSE), a wireless platform, designed by Isansys Lifecare, to monitor patients continuously and wirelessly in the hospital or even at home.
Instead of being connected to bedside monitoring devices with many cables and wires, discreet, comfortable sensors are worn on the chest under clothing or baby grows. As they play or move around, the PSE automatically collects and analyses vital sign data continuously. All of this information is then relayed back to the nurses’ station, and, if a child’s health starts to deteriorate or they start feeling poorly, the technology provides an immediate warning to the clinical teams allowing a swift response.
How does it work:
- Wireless devices are attached to your child’s chest and/ or leg, to monitor heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen levels.
- This information is sent by Bluetooth to a special tablet computer at the bedside and then to a secure server and database inside the hospital’s firewalled IT system. None of your children’s data leaves the hospital.
- By analysing the data in real-time the RAPID Index can send early warning notifications to clinicians and nurses that a patient is deteriorating.
- In the future, patients will be able to go home with the sensors; the data will be transmitted back so patients can remain under the care of their clinical team, without being in the hospital.
What is the RAPID Index?
The RAPID Index (RI) is a patient-specific smart alarm that shows when a child’s vital signs are surprisingly different from what is normal (healthy) for them. It does not assume that all children of a certain age are the same. It is adaptive in that it learns what is normal for each patient and lets clinical teams know immediately if the patient’s health is deteriorating. It does not alarm when patients are getting better.