Healthcare is one of the markets of greatest potential for the IoT, and companies are recognizing that fact more and more. With a new launch, Zebra Technologies has made an attack on myocardial infarction.
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, leading to 17.3 million fatalities each year, and that number is expected to rise to more than 23.6 million by 2030. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurs when blood flow is blocked in the coronary artery.
Zebra Technologies Corporation and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in Leiden, the Netherlands announced on August 27 the deployment of their Time Tracking Solution for Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients.
LUMC's Cardiology Department set up the Door-To-Balloon (DTB) Task Force focused on ischemic time in heart infarction patients. DTB is the period of time from when the patient enters the hospital to when the blockage is removed to restore blood flow. In order to reduce DTB time, real-time, accurate time tracking, evaluation and feedback is essential.
“Zebra's Time Tracking Solution for AMI patients allows us to track and evaluate door-to-balloon time in myocardial infarction patients,” said Prof. Dr. M.J. Schalij PhD MD, head of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center. “The system provides reliable, real-time feedback and helps us optimize the logistics chain in acute myocardial infarction care.”
Zebra developed the solution with its Zatar IoT platform to enable hospitals to track patients and provide real-time feedback on DTB time. The real-time data provided allows all members of the medical team, including cardiologists, ED physicians, nurses, EMS staff, technicians and administrators, to focus on the reduction of DTB time. It works by linking Zatar to the patients via Bluetooth wristbands.
LUMC preformed a 6-month, 100-patient pilot review of the solution and it’s now moved into commercialization phase for all AMI patients. Today, hospitals that want to deploy the solution can install in days without heavy staff training.
In terms of patient care, seconds matter so more information can mean more lives saved. IoT for the save.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
