S. Vishnu Sharma
HTIC and Helyxon, a healthcare startup in IIT Madras Research Park announced their successful deployment of remote patient monitoring solutions for COVID-19 that they have jointly developed.
The device brought out by IIT Madras’ Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, HTIC in association with Helyxon is said to be a first-of-its-kind in the market that does clinically accurate continuous monitoring of four critical parameters – Temperature, Oxygen Saturation, Respiratory Rate and Heart Rate.
HTIC 2020
That’s not all, the device brought out by HTIC and Helyxon has already reached over 2,000 patients in public and private hospitals and at homes.
Sources say another 5000 devices are in the pipeline.
Production is being scaled up to meet the growing demand. Cost of the device brought out by HTIC and Helyxon ranges from Rs. 2,500 to 10,000 depending on the configuration and parameters.
The device by HTIC and Helxyon is completely self-contained, portable, wireless and can be clipped on to patient’s finger and data is streamed to a mobile phone or central monitoring system.
The temperature is measured at the armpit and blood oxygen level, and other parameters at the finger itself.
The device is reusable and has a lifetime of over a year. The devices can be used by the hospitals and doctors for patient management beyond COVID-19.
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A video explaining the remote patient monitoring solution being developed and deployed by HTIC and Helyxon can be obtained by clicking the following url ‘https://fromsmash.com/Demo-Video-HTIC-IIT-Madras’
An audio clip that explains the remote patient monitoring solution by Professor Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), IIT Madras can also be accessed at this url ‘https://fromsmash.com/Audio-HTIC-IIT-Madras’
Speaking about the development of the device by HTIC and Helyxon Professor Mohanasankar said there are several attempts to reposition consumer type devices like wrist bands and wearables as medical devices.
But doctors and hospitals are clear that they can only accept devices with accuracy on par with dedicated patient monitors since these are patient’s vital physiological parameters.
It was a big learning and a critical input for us, he said.
He further said as a result, the key technical challenge is to engineer the device so that it meets the standards of a medical patient monitor, and yet costs one tenth and can easily be fitted and used without any training.
The core technology was validated by a year-long multi-centric study at various Chennai-based medical institutions for the accuracy and performance with reference to current standards.
Specific to COVID, the reduction of close contact with patients by doctors and nurses, savings in PPE and monitoring equipment was found to be a significant advantage by hospitals.
Based on the clinical inputs, the team engineered this device in response to demand for low cost, simple and easy to use devices for monitoring patients anywhere at hospital or home.
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Speaking about the device brought out by HTIC and Helyxon Vijai Shankar Raja, founder and MD of Helyxon said it is more than a monitoring device.
Based on feedback from doctors and hospital management, deployment of OXY2 reduces overall load, stress and anxiety in the healthcare system, saves hospital beds for severe cases, and increases confidence for patients at home, he said.
NGOs have also come forward to procure these devices made by HTIC and Helyxon for Stanley Medical College Hospital, Institute of Child Health, Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology to meet their requirements.
The solution is scalable to hundreds of patients monitored by a hospital or a central authority.
The software platform seamlessly issues alert escalations for patient’s parameters and can be used for teleconsultations with doctors and hospitals.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’
The activities of the Institute in various fields of Science and Technology are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.
The Institute offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes leading to B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations.
IITM is a residential institute with more than 580 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here.
IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.
IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’Categoryfor the second consecutive year in India Ranking 2020released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.
The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the Engineering Institutions category in the same Rankings for five consecutive years – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019 launched by Innovation Cell of MHRD.