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Medical Innovations Could Help You Lead Happier, Healthier Life
Ocean Medical Center Part Of Effort To Debut Tech At Vegas Show
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo Courtesy Of Meridian Health Combining accurate blood pressure readings into a working optical mouse for the home computer is just one of the latest innovations being showcased this week by Meridian Health at a worldwide technology expo. |
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A computer mouse which monitors your blood pressure, medicine bottle caps that track your use and report your progress back to your physician and GPS-enabled sneakers with emergency response service.
Sound like science fiction?
Turns out this stuff is real, designed for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other memory impairments. They are just some of the latest medical innovations to be showcased in Las Vegas this week at the world's largest technology expo.
Ocean Medical Center in Brick and its parent company, Meridian Health, are excited to finally be presenting their latest digital health technology solutions at the 2008 International CES Show, said Sandra Elliott, Meridian's director of consumer technology and service development.
"Part of our focus has always been to look at what's innovative, creative and what potentially has the ability to change the way in which people can manage their own health," said Elliott, "as well as maybe connect them with us in a very different way - to help us better manage their health conditions."
The items presented at the conference by Meridian tend to focus on some of the more common medical ailments often found throughout Brick's senior population, such as hypertension, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and diabetes.
"We looked specifically at technologies that were easy to use, easy to understand and wouldn't potentially break the bank for people," said Elliott. "We determined whether or not they might be something that would help us, as a health care provider, better enable people to better manage their health."
One of the items Elliott is most eager to present is a new computer optical mouse, built by Cal Health, with built-in blood pressure sensors allowing individuals to remotely monitor certain medical parameters, such as blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol.
"The great things about that particular technology, are a couple of things," said Elliott. "One is it's built into something that many, many people are already used to using, which is a computer mouse. Second, it's not difficult at all to use. You literally just lift up a panel, the finger-cuff comes out, you stick your finger in, then you hit a computer screen where a 'scan now' kind of button comes up from the computer program when you're ready to take your blood pressure, and it literally will take your blood pressure and your pulse and record it for that day and time."
Combining the ability to accurately monitor a patient's blood pressure with a commonly used device in nearly every home could be a win-win for patients and physicians, said Elliott.
"It's really great because one of the best things about taking more frequent blood pressure is the fact that you're really getting a better understanding what your true blood pressure is," she said. "Many people get
white coat syndrome' when they go into a doctor's office, for example: you're a little bit more stressed, a little more nervous and people's blood pressure usually isn't what it normally is. It's usually a little higher when it's taken in a physician's office than when it's taken more frequently out in a common environment."
Being able to monitor blood pressure levels in the comfort of one's home and have those results analyzed by a computer could therefore provide physicians with a more accurate reading of a patient's true blood pressure level.
"Over the course of three months, I could take my blood pressure numerous times during the week and print out a report and show it to my physician when I go to see him, and say, 'here's what my blood pressure looks like,'" said Elliott. "This way they can make better, more informed clinical decisions on medication management, maybe diet management changes that a person may need to employ because they get a better, more complete picture of the person's health."
Often times when patients learn they have high blood pressure, they'll buy a blood pressure arm-cuff to take their readings. However, Elliott said the bulky contraptions often end up being used for a short duration and then forgotten in the back of a patient's closet over time.
"They're not easy," she said. "The cuffs going around your arms are not necessarily the easiest things to use and get consistent measurements with."
As it awaits final approval from the Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Ocean Medical Center will be the clinical trial location for the device.
"They're at a very early stage with it, and we (Meridian) are actually going to be assisting them with the FDA approval process," she said.
Another item being showcased at CES, and not dependent on FDA approval, are the latest glowing caps for medication bottles.
"I would say four to six weeks after the show, we will actually be very close to being able to offer it in the market place for people," she said. "We'll go through a small pilot phase to make sure there isn't any kinks in the system, because we'll be getting the new units off of the line. We'll make sure those work extremely well, and then we'll offer them out."
Working off of a small battery with an estimated lifespan of two years, the caps have built-in feedback loop sensors to allow physicians and family members to monitor whether patients are properly taking their medications as prescribed.
"Many seniors aren't necessarily as compliant as they need to be with their medication," said Elliott. "This will enable a lot of the family members to have access to information that's going to tell them whether or not their mom or dad are taking the medications when they're supposed to be."
Another intriguing item is a body sensor which calculates fitness statistics and calories burned. Used as a wearable sensor, the device allows the Meridian Life fitness staff the ability to remotely monitor member activity and create home-based fitness and wellness programs tailor-made for the individual patient's medical history.
As times change and technology proliferates in all aspects of life, it is now less expensive, easier to distribute and easier to modify. Making it easy to use with no headaches has been a key selling point as the physicians at Meridian are already welcoming in the new innovations, according to Elliott.
"They're beginning to see that there's a lot of technology that can be implemented in new ways to help them better manage their patients," she said. "They like working with us on this because it's fun, different and they can begin to see how health care will change over the course of the next five to 10 years."
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