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| SmartLinx Neuron2--Courtesy of Qualcomm |
The deal just closed last month, but already mobile tech player Qualcomm ($QCOM) is rolling out a new vital sign monitoring system that enables the integration of vital sign monitoring and patient medical records from new subsidiary Capsule. The FDA just cleared the system, SmartLinx Vitals Plus, and Qualcomm is starting to deploy it to some customers this quarter with a wider rollout slated for next year.
The Capsule system works to combine user authentication, patient identification, vitals measurement, and clinical documentation and enable monitoring of all that data via a tablet-like, mobile computer designed for clinical use, the SmartLinx Neuron2. Qualcomm closed an acquisition of Capsule for an undisclosed sum last month.
"Today's patient bedside is crowded with technology used to capture, chart and review the complete set of patient vitals, and we see tremendous opportunity in technological convergence--the ability to combine these multiple components into a single device or 'all-in-one' solution requiring one workflow," Kevin Phillips, Capsule's VP of marketing and product management, said in a statement.
He continued: "In SmartLinx Vitals Plus, we developed a fully integrated mobile system that streamlines the patient monitoring and clinical documentation process through a clinician-friendly, flexible workflow--complete with an early warning scoring system--that presents vitals data all on one screen, right at the point-of-care."
The idea is to circumvent a typical IT strategy used by hospitals--to connect vital sign monitoring devices via a solution that integrates that data into the provider's charting and thus into the broader electronic medical record. The SmartLinx Vitals Plus is intended to create a system that more easily integrates clinical data to enable the creation and utilization of an integrated biomedical computing device.
The system enables charting of 8 vital signs modifiers, oxygen delivery as well as 7 custom vital signs including noninvasive blood pressure, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, pulse rate and temperature. It can function both as part of a handheld computer for the healthcare provider as well as a freestanding patient monitor. It works in conjunction with as many as 18 different categories of medical devices.
"SmartLinx Vitals Plus has the potential to deliver more patient data to the medical record with timeliness and accuracy," said Capsule client Lisa Levine, a nurse and clinical supervisor at Memorial Healthcare System in Miramar, FL.
"The workflow was designed with the clinician in mind, allowing for increased efficiency. IT will re-use the existing SmartLinx MDIS infrastructure for management and connectivity, making it an easy transition to use SmartLinx Vitals Plus," she concluded.
- here is the announcement