Electronic bed-side care assistant monitors patient mobility
18 January 2013
New from Empa and ETH Zurich spin-off, compliant concept, is an electronic healthcare assistant, which is able to monitor patient sleep patterns and mobility.
A mobility monitor attached to the side of the patient's bed
Cost pressures in the healthcare system and care requirements are constantly increasing. At the same time, the individual workload managed by nurses and caretakers is becoming heavier. Consequently, intelligent systems that ease their workload, and guarantee constant, high-quality care are more in demand than ever.
Michael Sauter, CEO of compliant concept (a company located in Empa's "glaTec" technology centre, in Duebendorf) has come up with a solution to this problem. In July 2012, the mechanical engineer and his team launched its first product to form part of a comprehensive mobility and activity analysis concept for individuals in need of care.
It is now possible to obtain objective information about sleep patterns and mobility. The 'Mobility Monitor' supports nurses and caretakers in their decision-making processes and contributes to the efficient planning, design and documentation of care.
According to Sauter, feedback from the first customers was overwhelming, with the monitor being used in a much more versatile manner than originally anticipated.
How it works
A monitor is attached to the bed, beneath the mattress, and connected both to a display device at the edge of the bed and to a call light system. In a contactless manner, ie without touching the body, the monitor records and analyses the patient's minutest movements, evaluates these and displays the measured values on a small screen at the end of the bed.
The computer evaluation also allows staff to efficiently plan and document further care. As the 'electronic assistant' is also highly suitable for recording sleep patterns and it supports medication dosage verification, it is used not only in nursing homes and hospitals, but also in rehabilitation clinics.