Irish firm wins huge contract with NHS

A SMART plaster that detects the early signs of sepsis, created by an Irish company, is to be fasttracked into NHS hospitals in the UK.

Trials of the RespiraSense device, from PMD Solutions, show it can identify a deteriorating patient an average of six hours earlier than current methods, significantly boosting survival chances.

It has been earmarked for rapid adoption as part of the NHS’s Innovation Accelerator programme.

The €45 sensor is placed on the chest of very sick patients to monitor their breathing as soon as they arrive in hospital. The technology – which can be worn for eight days at a time – tracks respiratory rates 25 times a second and sends the data to a tablet or hospital computer.

The device comprises a six-inch adhesive sensor that sticks to the abdomen, and a small plastic capsule that contains the battery, electronics and Bluetooth transmitter.

A Danish trial of 132 patients found the device allowed doctors to see when a patient started deteriorating with sepsis an average of six hours before they would usually spot the problem. In the best cases, they were warned 12 hours early.

Hospitals in Portsmouth, Leeds and London are assessing the device, but the NHS wants more doctors to start trialling it.

The NHS has asked England’s 15 academic health science networks to start promoting the Respira, and has given the Cork firm behind it a share of a £220,000 (€246,000) bursary designed to kickstart mass production of innovative technology.

Sepsis develops when an infection sparks an immune response where the body attacks its own organs.

The Respira Sense helps doctors act quickly by sounding the alarm when a patient starts deteriorating. Doctors say a respiratory rate of 20 breaths per minute is the most significant indicator of sepsis in patients in hospital care.

Previous attempts to create continuous monitoring devices failed because they sounded the alarm every time someone got out of bed or walked up a flight of stairs.

The new gadget solves that by using a motion tracker to identify when someone is moving, and a computer programme and algorithm to take into account their increased breathing rate.

Myles Murray, CEO of PMD Solutions, said the device represents huge potential benefit for both patients and healthcare providers.

‘Our technology really enables healthcare providers to identify the earliest signs of deterioration, delivering fluids and antibiotics on time, and stopping the patient from having an event that requires intensive critical care,’ he said, adding that the HSE has no plans as yet to roll out the RespiraSense device.

Warned 12 hours early