EarlySense, which markets a contactless vital sign monitoring system for hospitals, is expanding into post-acute care with a system designed specifically for facilities aiming to cut down on patient falls and hospital readmissions.
Launched on Tuesday, the InSight platform is cost-optimized and modified for post-acute care settings, such as nursing or rehabilitation facilities, EarlySense said in a statement. It is based on the EarlySense system, which includes a contact-free sensor placed under a patient’s mattress.
The piezoelectric sensor converts mechanical deformations into electrical signals to continuously monitor heart rate, respiratory rate and movement. Data are relayed to a central display station, where caregivers may see the vitals of up to 40 patients. The company also markets a home version for consumers seeking to monitor their sleep and wellness.
While EarlySense already has a presence in acute care settings, the company has made some tweaks to tailor InSight to that market, where clinicians are trying to achieve two main outcomes: preventing falls and reducing rehospitalizations. By providing real-time monitoring and alerts, the system can help caregivers detect patient deterioration early and act quickly and accordingly, EarlySense CEO Avner Halperin said in the statement.
“This is really the first time we have a solution designed from the get-go for this environment,” Halperin told FierceMedicalDevices. Instead of a bedside monitor, data from the InSight sensor is automatically collected and communicated to a tablet or a central nursing station, he said.
The EarlySense system has been shown to reduce the length of hospital stay as well as the incidence of falls and pressure ulcers, Halperin said. Approximately one-third of people older than 65 have “significant fall episodes” each year, which can lead to hospital readmissions--bad news for hospitals as CMS penalizes them financially for high readmission rates.
In June, the company bagged a $25 million financing, bringing its total raised to $100 million. In July 2014, its Chair Sensor Solution, which monitors vitals through a contact-free sensor, earned FDA clearance and in January 2015, it got another nod, this time for its EarlySense Bedside Monitor, for the tracking of patients' heart rate, respiratory rate and movement. In September 2015, EarlySense rolled out a product geared toward consumers for at-home wellness monitoring.