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AIIMS Rishikesh’s system to remotely monitor Covid-19 patients is a handy containment tool
The device is like a wrist watch that is wore on the wrist for the monitoring of vitals.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh has launched a remote health monitoring system to cut the health staff’s exposure to coronavirus while bringing down the cost of hospitalising positive patients. The device has been named Monal after the state bird.
Through this system, information on the health parameters of a coronavirus positive patient will get displayed in the control centre of the hospital while the patient recovers at home. If the health condition of any patient linked to this system suddenly worsens, then this device will inform the monitoring team and emergency help can be rushed to the patient in time.
Professor Ravi Kant, director of AIIMS Rishikesh said that the device offers three main benefits.
“This will prevent health care workers from unnecessary exposure to infection. Along with this, the ever-increasing demand for PPE kits will be curbed as patients will be monitored from a distance, and at the same time, the patient will receive healthcare at home while under intensive supervision of doctors day and night,” said Kant.
Dr. Mohit Tayal, assistant professor from the department of radiodiagnosis, who was involved in the development of the device, says it is similar to a smartwatch that a suspected patient will have to wear on the wrist, which in turn will use sensors to monitor the patient’s health vitals.
“It requires a suspected patient to download the application, which can be used to report their symptoms after registering with their mobile number. If the symptoms are similar to those of Covid-19, then a health team will visit to verify and take the person’s sample for test. If the doctors feel that the person is a potential case, then they will be given this device and home quarantined, after which their vitals will be monitored from a command centre at the hospital,” said Dr Tayal.
Dr Tayal added that a person will be hospitalised if the vitals deviate from the normal range.
“But otherwise, the main idea is to confine a potential patient to his home and control community transmission of the disease as a positive patient can spread the virus to dozens of people when quarantined at a healthcare facility,” added Dr Tayal.
Dr Madhur Uniyal, staff officer at the institution said that the devise’s cost was even less than the cost of keeping a coronavirus positive patient in the hospital for a day.
“As a result of this, the institution will be able to easily provide the benefit of medical services to more patients with fewer resources,” said Dr Uniyal.
The device runs even on 2G internet and has already been tested on around 200 suspected patients.
Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the system on Tuesday via video conferencing in presence of senior officials of AIIMS Rishikesh.
The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19
While dedicating this device to the country and the state, Rawat named it after Uttarakhand’s official bird Monal, and said, “This device will bring a revolution in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak.”
The device will be available for download on both iOS and Android platforms from the next week.
