Better Care allows the capture, integration, analysis and processing of biomedical signals from a wide range of medical devices (monitors, respirators, ...) The platform incorporates medical knowledge through implementation of configurable alarms.

Description of the tech for sale

Better Care is a knowledge fusion between Doctors and Engineers, allowing add advanced alarms to biomedical signals. With this project we have tried to solve the problems described in the previous section, creating a software platform that allows to acquire, synchronize, analyse cycle by cycle, store and distribute biomedical signals from a wide range of medical devices (ventilators, vital signs monitors, ECG monitors, etc..) and multimedia digital signals sources (video and audio) generating intelligent alarms with a large cost savings for hospitals and clinics in the integration and centralization of these waves. Biomedical signals can be sent in real time through Internet anywhere in the world, even with small bandwidth, providing a tool for health professionals to remote support and give second opinions. This platform can be used also in mobile units, allowing see waveforms in the destination hospital while the unit is in route. The software has been modeled using a multi-purpose platform that can be adapted to different types of environments that require information on monitoring as: - Intensive and Semi-Intensive Care environments, - Ambulatory (Non critical patients) - Mobile units (ambulances) - Long distance passenger transport (aircraft and ships) - Inaccessible environments (military bases, research bases, ..) - Monitoring patients with chronic diseases The product is in the area of systems for medical decision support, even for critical patients, semi critical and chronic hospitals and has applications in: - areas of transport of seriously ill patients - specialized units (ICU, semi UCI, non ICU...), - and home monitoring. The platform integration into the Hospital Information Systems (HIS) provides easy access to the patient data from any computer system and data exchange between different actors. The capability to convert biomedical signals acquired in the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard digital format and sending them to the PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) server provides the storage and conservation of these information on an existing repository in most Hospitals and Clinics and already prepare to manage large amounts of information. Currently the size of a 24h ICU study is about 200 MB. Data acquired from medical devices can be saved in a text file, providing a powerful source of information to the health professional as a research tool. With Better Care, not only they can give a better care to the patients but also they can do research. This is one of the Better Care added values. Currently there is two papers published thanks to the data provided by Better Care platform: 1.- Correger E, Murias G, Chacon E, Estruga A, Sales B, López-Aguilar J, Montanya J, Lucangelo U, García-Esquirol O, Villagrá A, Villar J, Kacmarek RM, Burgueño MJ, Blanch L. Interpretación de las curvas del respirador en pacientes con insuficiencia respiratoria aguda. Medicina Intensiva 2011;doi:10.1016 /j.medin.2011.08.005. 2.- Blanch L, Sales B, Montanya J et al . Validation of the Better Care© system to detect ineffective efforts during expiration in mechanically ventilated patients. A pilot study. Intensive Care Med doi: 10.1007/s00134-012-2493-4 Additional papers are pending to review.

Specifications

Better Care allows the capture, integration, analysis and processing of biomedical signals from a wide range of medical devices (monitors, respirators, ...) The platform incorporates medical knowledge through implementation of configurable alarms. View the biomedical signals from wherever you want: Better Care® allows remote viewing in “real time”* of biomedical signals, so you can see those from anywhere in the world, including through a 3G connection. *Time representation of biological signals is determinated by several factors, such as the time delay imposed by medical hardware, latency in the communications, … Common interface for a wide range of devices: The Better Care platform provides a common interface, homogeneous and fully configurable for a wide variety of medical devices. New equipment can be add quickly and reliably thanks to our broad expertise integrating medical devices. Integrated into the Hospital Information System: Better Care® provides connectivity capability with the main Hospital Information Systems, through the standars HL7, DICOM and CDA. The biomedical signals are sent to PACS in DICOM format. Retrieving the patient list from the HIS using the Worklist.. CDA file generation with the summary of the activity to include as a clinical episode into the HIS. Automatic access to previous studies stored in the PACS. Capability to retrieve patient PACS radiological studies of the patient monitored and displayed on the client. Conditional alarms can be generated by the combination of patient’s biomedical signals and variables (medication, previous clinical episodes, …) extracted from the HIS through HL7.

Main advantages of its use

• Reduce costs integrating medical devices in a single interface
• Advanced alarms from multidisciplinary medical areas
• Remote monitoring of ICU beds
• Receive in real time biomedical waveforms from a mobile unit (ambulance)

Applications

• Provide Second Opinions for biomedical signal monitoring
• ICU medical devices integration
• Track biomedical signals from mobile units