The most common clinical parameters that are monitored include:

1. Pulse

2. Radial Blood Pressure.

3. Single-lead ECG

4. Temperature.

5. Respiratory Rate.

6. Blood Oxygen (SATs)

7. Sleep Quality (Apnoea events)

8. Blood Glucose.

9. Daily Activity (Steps walked, distance walked and stairs climbed)

10. Calories Burnt.

11. Falls

Hospitals and healthcare providers signed up to the “Virtual Wards” programme can log into this portal to monitor their patients. Reasons for remote monitoring include:

Facilitating Elderly Care

With people living longer, a significant proportion of the population is now aged over 60. With increased age comes increased frailty. Many of the elderly take multiple medications for chronic conditions. A non-invasive smart device can be used to remind elderly people living alone to take their medications at specified intervals. The device can further detect falls and notify the clinical team when they fall at home, improving survival outcomes.

Management Of Chronic Diseases

Promoting healthy lifestyles and monitoring changes in baseline clinical parameters like BP, heart rate in chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) can help improve outcomes for patients. Better understanding of how these factors impact on disease indicators can enable hospitals to deliver more personalised care plans to patients.

Healthcare Inequality

Addressing healthcare disparities is an important aspect of healthcare provision. Datasets Like the demographic, social determinants of health and vWards data, have the potential to provide healthcare institutions with new insights on disparities that exist across populations.

Monitoring Population Health

vWards devices are designed to promote better management of health outcomes with a focus on prevention and monitoring of pre-existing conditions. Users can share data from their device with clinical teams that monitor changes in their clinical status via remote sensing to improve the management of chronic conditions like hypertension or COPD or diabetes.