Well-considered and scientifically grounded decision for using sensors in healthcare

Preparing healthcare for the future, that is the ambition of the new Health Value Space Ghent (HVS) initiated by Maria Middelares. The presentation of research projects, innovative studies and special expertise is at the forefront of the science forum, one of the consultation platforms within HVS. There, researchers and specialists exchange views and share tips and tricks three times a year.

One of this edition's hot topics: the well-considered and scientifically grounded decision for using sensors in healthcare A concrete example concerns a prospective study centred on the use of the Vivalink heart-ECG patch for the continuous monitoring of vital parameters in hospitalised patients as an alternative to the 'gold standard', which is ECG-based monitoring.

In ten randomly selected intensive care patients, five of whom were ventilated and five not, a very high correlation was found between the heart rate measured by the Vivalink Cardiac patch on the one hand and the hospital's ECG-based monitoring system on the other. For the respiratory rate, the results were more varied, and a moderate correlation between both was found. Both methods also demonstrated a moderate correlation compared with the ventilator for ventilated patients. For this parameter, therefore, further research is warranted.