Wearable Biosensors Enable Next-Generation Patient Monitoring

A medical-grade biosensor provides a monitoring solution for at-risk patients in low acuity hospital settings, such as the general ward.

Unlike fitness trackers and consumer focused wearables, the new Royal Philips (Philips; Amsterdam, The Netherlands) connected biosensor automatically and continuously measures heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), posture, and activity data. The biosensor then transmits the data it collects to a clinical decision support software application, which can be configured to promptly notify the appropriate caregiver or clinician when preset limits are exceeded.


Development of the connected biosensor solution was driven by providers looking for models to address specific issues, such as helping at-risk patients in low acuity hospital areas through recovery and transition to home care, or to help caregivers detect early signs of patient deterioration so that they can intervene early. Philips further plans to introduce a portfolio of integrated solutions which will also connect to analytics tools and dashboards, with the goal of providing clinicians actionable insights that could help improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and improve access to care.

“We envision a future where patients enabled by connected health technologies will recover faster with fewer complications and greater peace of mind in the hospital and subsequently at home,” said Carla Kriwet, CEO of patient care and monitoring solutions at Philips. “We see the potential for connected sensing solutions and the value created by the rich and actionable data they generate to have a very positive impact on the chronically ill, by helping to reduce associated costly adverse events, complications, unplanned transfers back to the ICU, and longer lengths of hospitalization.”

Philips recently revealed the HealthSuite Digital Platform, a system of wirelessly integrated health measurement devices that gather information for Philips personal health programs. All the devices are Bluetooth enabled, connecting automatically and transferring data to the Philips HealthSuite Health app, so that users can track measurements over time. Among these is the Philips health watch, which continuously and automatically measures a wide range of health biometrics, including heart rate, activity, and sleep patterns.

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