EarlySense, a new technology that pioneers contact-free continuous monitoring solutions in healthcare alongside Save the Children Foundation, will be tested first at Aga Khan University teaching hospital and then Pumwani Maternity Hospital to monitor key health vitals of neonates in Nairobi, Kenya.
Reports from USAID shows that sub-Saharan Africa has the highest newborn death rate at 34 in 1000 births, with infant deaths accounting for one-third of under-five deaths globally. EarlySense, supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will enable nurses and physicians track heart rate, respiratory rate and motion continuously.
“We look forward to the evaluation by Save the Children and using the results to inform best practices in the clinical care of vulnerable newborns born in low and middle-income countries” said Rasa Izadnegahdar, the deputy director on Maternal Newborn Child Health Discovery & Tools team at the Bill Gates Foundation. He also said that EarlySense’s contact-free continuous monitoring technology is a novel approach in newborn care.
“We are honored to have been chosen for this important project, and to work together with Save the Children in a project supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Avner Halperin, Co-Founder and CEO of EarlySense.
This technology is clinically proven to help healthcare providers prevent adverse events including “code-blues”, preventable ICU transfers, patient falls, pressure ulcers and hospital re-admissions. The contact-free sensor is placed under the mattress and it requires no contact or hookups to the neonates.
Although, this technology has not been used before to monitor neonates, its sensors are found in hospitals, rehabs and skilled nursing facilities around the world. It utilizes a piezoelectric technology integrated into a membrane plate to detect mechanical vibrations of the heart cardio ballistic (motion) effect, respiratory and patient motion. The signal is sent to the bedside monitor which analyzes data and also, indicates patient trend overtime.
Dr Amy Ginsburg, the head of Save the Children’s Technology Accelerator Unit, said “Part of Save the Children’s core mission is to give every child a healthy start at life. We are excited to assess EarlySense’s technology among newborns in African hospitals.”
Save the Children is an international nonprofit organization that works in 120 countries across the world.
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