The Journal of mHealth Vol 2 issue 5 (Oct) | Page 8

INDUSTRY
NEWS
News and Information for
Digital Health Professionals

Wearable Device Helps Medics
Save Lives in Disasters and on
the Battlefield
Wearable device designed to measure and monitor the vital signs of multiple trauma patients
for emergency response in disasters and battlefield situations
The First Response Monitor has been
designed to help medics monitor both
heart rate and respiratory rate. Respiratory rate is often neglected by automated monitoring systems and has been
described as the ‘forgotten bio-sign’, as
many existing wearable monitors focus
on heart rate alone and those that do
measure respiratory rate have low accuracy or are difficult to use in an emergency situation. However, the benefits
of accurately monitoring respiratory rate
are clear, and when combined with other
parameters – such as heart rate and body
temperature – can indicate life-threatening conditions such as sepsis.
In developing the new device design
agency Cambridge Design Partnership
interviewed a range of army medics
about their needs and challenges in multiple casualty emergency situations. An
unmet need was identified for a low-cost
device to bridge the gap between manual
methods of vital signs measurement –
which can be laborious and challenging
amidst the noise and stress of a disaster
or on the front line - and more expensive
patient monitoring systems.

6

The lightweight, robust and low-cost
wearable biometric device not only
monitors patients but collects and

October 2015

time. The data can then be transmitted
using Bluetooth low energy to a smartphone app or tablet, enabling other data
analyses such as multiple patient triage or
situational awareness across the group.

transmits data in real-time, enabling the
medic to care for a greater number of
casualties, providing more effective casualty triage to deliver improved patient
outcomes.
The small device clips onto