Welcome to the Respiratory Huddle

This year, the challenge to healthcare providers across the globe is to deliver better outcomes to every patient. When COVID-19 caused a worldwide pandemic, the team at PMD Solutions sprung to action. 

Numerous hospitals adopted RespiraSense in the battle against COVID-19. COVID-19 infection manifests as an acute respiratory infection, with respiratory distress being an early indicator of severity. 

The clinical science behind Respiratory Rate as an Early Indicator of patient deterioration. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) state that the respiratory rate (RR) is the most sensitive marker to indicate a deterioration in a patient’s clinical status (NICE 2007). Research studies repeatedly and consistently support such statements into early predictors of adverse clinical events such as cardiac arrest and deterioration requiring ITU admission (Fieselmann 1997, Hodgetts 2002, Goldhill 2005, Subbe 2003).

Respiratory rate (RR) is an important vital sign, but difficult to measure. Even though it is often measured poorly  (in one of our studies we found it was most often 18, 20, or 22 breaths per minute (bpm) and never 17, 19, or 21 bpm) it is still a powerful predictor of outcome and can improve patient safety. This may be because the RR is never counted at all, and is actually a surrogate “nurse worried score” in which a rate of 18 bpm is awarded to patients no one is concerned about, 20 bpm when there is a slight concern, and 22 bpm when there is a major concern? Despite the above, studies on manually recorded rates have shown they predict outcome earlier than changes in other vital signs and may be particularly useful in identifying deterioration in the acutely ill, respiratory failure, COPD, early sepsis, cancer patients, etc. There is, therefore, no doubt that a cheap convenient device that accurately measured RR would be extremely useful and is badly needed (Respiratory rate monitor).

We have designed a wireless, discreet, continuous respiratory rate monitor that eliminates subjectivity from Respiratory Rate monitoring and displays this information on a user-friendly platform in a format that is easy to interpret.

Patients don’t suddenly deteriorate, there are always signs. With the advent of value-based care where outcomes drive reimbursement more than the simple delivery of a procedure, the healthcare sector is now acutely focused on innovations that trigger the right care for the right patient at the right time. This is no truer than for patients in hospital who suffer cardiac arrests, respiratory failures, or septic shock. There are always signs and one of those signs has been underutilized until now; Respiratory Rate.

PMD Solutions Ltd, in partnership with Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, is undertaking a space-enabled medical solution “CORONA-RS” - to scale community monitoring of respiratory compromised patients in the community due to Covid-19 and other respiratory compromised patient cohorts. 

Ms Sandy Rolfe (Respiratory Nurse Specialist, NHS Tayside) recently wrote for the British Journal of Nursing about ‘The importance of respiratory rate monitoring.’ This is the process undertaken by clinical staff of manually counting a patients’ breaths for one minute and recording that figure in the patients’ notes, along with their other vital signs. Rolfe highlights the reasons why respiratory monitoring is so important, how it can sometimes fall foul of inaccuracy and how it could be improved.

THE BREATHING OF 40 COVID-19 PATIENTS IN BEAUMONT HOSPITAL IN DUBLIN IS BEING CONTINUOUSLY, REMOTELY MONITORED WITH RESPIRASENSE.

Now more than ever, healthcare providers around the world are being called upon to help bring better outcomes to every patient. Since 2011, PMD Solutions have been developing a solution: RespiraSense – a Continuous Respiratory Rate Monitor which can remotely monitor the breathing of multiple patients, simultaneously. RespiraSense has an error rate of just plus or minus one breath and is also the first device that can monitor breathing remotely.

One of the main advantages when interacting with patients with Coronavirus  for healthcare providers using RespiraSense is that they don’t have to keep donning Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to monitor the breathing of COVID-19 patients.

Two RespiraSense™ Clinical Research Posters, on the efficacy of respiratory rate monitoring, developed in collaboration with our centre of excellence will be on show in Belfast on Thursday, 24th and Friday, 25th January as part of the BOMMS Scientific Meeting.

PMD Solutions, an industry-leading medical technology company based in Cork, Ireland, today announced the issuance of Japanese Patent No. 6401718 Titled “A Method and Device for Respiratory Monitoring” issued September 14, 2018.