FloPatch Advanced Ultrasound Tech Makes World Debut in Northern California

El Camino Health has become the first health system in the world to adopt FloPatch, a new technology that monitors blood flow in real time. Developed by Flosonics Medical, FloPatch is the first wireless, wearable Doppler ultrasound system that helps clinicians better manage intravenous (IV) fluid therapy earlier in the sepsis care pathway.
 
“Timing is crucial when caring for patients with sepsis. Our nurses have seen firsthand how effective FloPatch is in monitoring the effectiveness of treatment in deteriorating patients, especially those with sepsis and low blood pressure,” said Cheryl Reinking, chief nursing officer at El Camino Health. “We are proud to be the first hospital in the world to adopt this advanced technology, and have been working with Fogarty Innovation and Flosonics Medical for the past year piloting FloPatch. Our nurses immediately loved it, and helped decide where in the hospital the technology would be the best fit.”
 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved device provides a simple, fast, and consistent method for measuring changes in heart function. Once placed on a patient’s neck, the FloPatch continuously assesses blood flow in the carotid arteries, which are the major blood vessels that supply blood to the brain, neck, and face. FloPatch then wirelessly transmits that data to a secure iOS mobile application, providing clinicians with actionable, real time data at the bedside. It is an easy-to-use, hands-free device that can be deployed in under one minute.
 
“We’re thrilled to partner with El Camino Health to launch this pioneering ultrasound technology,” Flosonics Medical Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jon-Emile Kenny said. “FloPatch is a new paradigm linking physiology and resuscitation medicine.”
 
When a patient arrives at a hospital with sepsis, the first line of treatment is IV fluids. However, many patients do not benefit from and may be harmed by excess IV fluids, even early in care. Excess IV fluids can cause complications that result in an extended length of stay and more complex care. While there are tools currently available that can measure fluid response, they are cumbersome and time-consuming to use.
 
FloPatch’s advanced analytics engine quantifies and displays changing metrics over the course of an assessment and helps clinicians deliver more precise fluid treatment and ultimately, better care to patients.
 
One recent study demonstrated that four to five patients will avoid potentially dangerous fluid overload in the emergency department for every 10 FloPatch assessments performed, resulting in improved patient outcomes and significant cost savings.
 
Flosonics was first introduced to El Camino Health via Fogarty Innovation (FI), a non-profit, educational, medical technology accelerator located on the hospital’s Mountain View, Calif., campus. Flosonics participated in FI’s Company Accelerator Program, a six-month cross-functional mentoring program that helps early-stage companies hone their business model and make progress toward key milestones.
 
With guidance from their lead FI mentors, the Flosonics team worked directly with clinicians at El Camino Health to gain a better understanding of the patient journey and determine the best clinical use for their technology. Through this process, the Flosonics team focused on the unmet clinical need of more efficiently managing fluids in critically ill patients, bringing forward a product that streamlines a clinician’s workflow and will ultimately help patients around the world.
 
El Camino Health has served the communities of Santa Clara County (California) for more than 60 years, with nationally recognized physicians and nurses at two not-for-profit acute care hospitals in Los Gatos and Mountain View, and primary care, multi-specialty care, and urgent care locations across the region. Key service lines include cancer care, cardiovascular care, maternity care, mental health and addiction services, orthopedics, pulmonology, and women’s health. 
 
Flosonics Medical is a Canadian medical device company founded in 2015 engaged in the research and development of innovative ultrasound technology. 
 
Fogarty Innovation is a nonprofit educational medtech incubator dedicated to advancing human health worldwide. The company’s leadership team provides “full contact coaching” to help young companies navigate the path to commercialization, delivers practical educational programming to stakeholders across the ecosystem, and forges alliances across the innovation ecosystem that accelerate the invention, development, and deployment of new medical technologies into clinical care. Founded by Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D., a cardiovascular surgeon, inventor, and entrepreneur, Fogarty Innovation is headquartered on the El Camino Health campus in Mountain View, Calif.