Angulus Corp — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NHLBI

Description

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Each year in the U S over ventilated patients in the intensive care unit contract Ventilator associated pneumonia VAP a hospital acquired infection which has captured the attention of numerous stakeholders in the critical care domain VAP has a mortality rate and results in an extended ICU stay of days on average Hospitals incur an additional $ in incremental costs per patient and a national average of Reducing the incidence of Ventilator associated pneumonia VAP and $ Billion is spent on VAP annually related ventilator associated events VAE is of prime importance to clinicians hospital stakeholders accrediting agencies and ultimately patients However despite evidence that maintaining ventilated patients at an elevation between degrees is correlated with significantly improved VAP outcomes there is currently a dearth of effective methods for accurately and efficiently measuring a patientandapos s elevation in real time Existing tools for measuring patient elevation are archaic inflexible and unreliable Without accurate reliable and available data on a patientandapos s elevation evaluating and improving compliance with head of bed guidelines is challenging to say the least A mechanism that accurately measures a patientandapos s elevation and signals that information to nurses is highly desired and can dramatically improve compliance with best practice patient elevation guidelines which in turn would reduce the incidence of VAP shorten ICU stays and translate into tremendous cost savings and improved clinical outcomes for hospitals Angulus was developed to fill this gap in critical care technology It is a novel sensor which accurately measures patient elevation in real time irrespective of a patientandapos s idiosyncratic orientation and transmits on demand minute to minute data and aggregate trends to a corresponding display device via Bluetooth Angulus is composed of two components a wireless sensor which is affixed to the patientandapos s sternum and a corresponding software interface which displays the patient elevation angle Utilization of Angulus will empower critical care treatment teams to more efficiently monitor patientsandapos elevation and improve compliance to HOB guidelines In this Phase I proposal we will collaborate with Albert Einstein Montefiore Medical center to conduct initil end user focus groups validate the accuracy of Angulus as a patient elevation measurement tool implement a randomized cross over trial to measure the impact of Angulus on improving compliance with patient elevation guidelines and collect end user satisfaction and usability scores and integrate critical functionality with an agile and iterative product development approach By empowering critical care teams with intelligible accessible and accurate on demand data about a patientandapos s elevation angle in real time Angulus will improve compliance with patient elevation guidelines This work will have a tremendous impact on resolving a burdensome problem associated with increased patient morbidity and astronomical costs This proposal is very highly aligned with the overall mission of NHLBI PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE This project will empower critical care treatment teams to readily understand ventilated patientsandapos elevation angles with greater efficiency accuracy and fidelity in real time Improving access to intelligible patient elevation data will enable criticalcare providers to improve compliance with best practice patient elevation guidelines which have been shown to have a significant impact on the reduction of ventilator associated pneumonia VAP Each year over ventilated patients in the intensive care unit contract Ventilator associated pneumonia VAP in the U S alone VAP is a hospital acquired infection associated with increased mortality rates extended length of ICU stays and on average $ B incremental costs incurred by hospitals nationally every year Through implementing evaluating and refining Angulus a novel mechanism for measuring patient elevation we will improve compliance with head of bed guidelines and begin to tackle the tremendous public health burden associated with VAP