Handheld System Monitors Multiple Patient Parameters

A handheld device with wireless capabilities can help emergency medical services (EMS), firefighters, and military personnel measure five patient parameters.

The Nonin Medical (Minneapolis, MN, USA) CO-Pilot H500 wireless handheld multi-parameter system is designed to improve patient care following cardiac arrest, traumatic injury, carbon monoxide (CO) or smoke inhalation, and other medical emergencies, helping response teams provide care before arrival at a hospital. The CO-Pilot H500 simultaneously tracks patient pulse oximetry (SpO₂), pulse rate, carboxyhemoblin (COHb) and methemoglobin (MetHb). Cerebral and tissue oximetry (rSO₂) can be measured using an additional sensor.


An important feature is the ability to measure brain and tissue oxygenation when administering CPR to patients who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) by providing data that tracks decreases in tissue oxygenation levels, a critical metric for both survival and brain function. In addition, the CO-Pilot can assist in the clinical assessment of CO poisoning, thus allowing first responders to make treatment decisions at the scene of the event or during evacuation to a hospital.

“During our clinical study of the CO-Pilot we found it to be portable and extremely easy to use. The ability to track a multitude of parameters was beneficial and provided critical information for patient care,” said Guillaume Debaty, MD, PhD, an emergency medicine physician at Grenoble Alpes University Hospital, and the head of SAMU de l'Isère (Grenoble, France). "We also believe the technology has great potential for the management of cardiac arrest patients.”

“Since 1986 when Nonin advanced pulse oximeter technology, the company has set the standard for innovation and accuracy,” said Dave Hemink, CEO of Nonin Medical. “The CO-Pilot is another Nonin industry first that leverages wireless technology to give first responders potentially life-saving patient data to decide on treatment options during the golden hour.”

Nonin PureSAT pulse oximetry technology utilizes intelligent pulse-by-pulse filtering to provide precise oximetry measurements, even in the presence of motion, low perfusion, or other challenging conditions, automatically adjusting to each patient's condition to provide fast and reliable readings by separating the pulse signals from artifact and interference, leaving only the true pulse.