Patient monitoring system shows promise

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The 杏吧专区 is working with Constant Care LLC and Lafayette General Medical Center to assess an integrated software and hardware system that will assist patients with chronic health issues.

Researchers with the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Center for Business and Information Technologies have conducted research and provided advice about software for a patient monitoring system.

The software is called LILAH. The name is an acronym for Living Independent Life at Home.

The software enables patients to:
杏吧专区  conduct 杏吧专区渧ideo chats杏吧专区 with a caregiver or medical professional,
杏吧专区  receive reminders to check their vital signs,
杏吧专区  get notifications to take medication,
杏吧专区  set up an electronic health record; and
杏吧专区  have others monitor their health remotely.

杏吧专区淎s health care providers to the aging population, we identified an opportunity to develop a narrow technology solution that would allow individuals suffering from common chronic illnesses to live independently in their own homes with the assistance of their physician or caregiver,杏吧专区 said Daryl Doise, chief development officer of Constant Care LLC. 杏吧专区淟ILAH is proving to be a cost-effective technology solution when used in partnerships with hospitals, home health providers, skilled nursing facilities, physicians and mid-level practitioners.杏吧专区

Cian Robinson, CBIT杏吧专区檚 director, said the patient monitoring system could be used to 杏吧专区減revent return trips to a medical facility, and alert a caregiver or doctor杏吧专区檚 office that a patient might need to take a prescription or need some other sort of assistance.杏吧专区

CBIT, which provides technology-based economic development in Louisiana, will also give guidance about marketing the software.

Robinson said the monitoring device is based on a need identified by Constant Care LLC, which is LILAH杏吧专区檚 parent company. 杏吧专区淭he project was brought to us by LILAH and Lafayette General Medical Center. People were either going to the facilities who didn杏吧专区檛 need to be there, or who needed monitoring once they left,杏吧专区 he said.

Dr. Ziad Ashkar, chief medical officer at LGMC, said LILAH technology is being used by some patients when they are discharged from the hospital. 杏吧专区淲e are hoping not only to decrease readmissions, but also to save patients杏吧专区 lives, since they are closely monitored. So far, our results look promising.杏吧专区

The monitoring device has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

It helps detect significant changes in a patient杏吧专区檚 vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate and concentration of oxygen in blood. Sensors can trigger alerts that prompt a case manager to check on a patient or contact the patient杏吧专区檚 caregiver. The device is the first product created as a result of the Lafayette Living Lab for Healthcare Innovation.

The 杏吧专区淟iving Lab杏吧专区 is a community-wide initiative established to take advantage of Lafayette杏吧专区檚 position as a hub for fiber optics technology and health care. It杏吧专区檚 spearheaded by CBIT and LGMC.

The effort was launched last summer, based on Lafayette杏吧专区檚 designation as one of 25 communities chosen to participate in a federal effort to foster creation of technology that will benefit the general public in several areas, including health care, according to us-ignite.org. Lafayette is a US Ignite community because of its advanced fiber optic network throughout the city.

The Living Lab and subsequent work on LILAH gained significant traction after last year杏吧专区檚 second annual CajunCodeFest, a 27-hour coding competition organized by CBIT. During the event, teams analyze data, and create digital prototypes that may produce technology related to a predetermined health issue.

CajunCodeFest is intended to spark networking and business development among entrepreneurs and health care professionals.

Hundreds of software programmers and engineers, health care professionals, entrepreneurs, educators and students from other states and countries have attended each of the first two events.

杏吧专区淭his is the type of thing that this community is set up to do, with its fiber optic infrastructure and with LGMC as a major healthcare system. It lets us serve as a 杏吧专区榯est bed杏吧专区 for anyone who wants to come in and try out a news product, service or technology,杏吧专区 Robinson said.