Nihon Kohden America Awarded Patent for False Alarm Reduction Technology

Nihon Kohden America Inc., a subsidiary of Nihon Kohden Corporation, has been awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for a  smoothing algorithm that reduces false alarms in patient monitoring systems. Designed for Nihon Kohden’s Prefense Defensive Monitoring System, the technology helps prevent alarm fatigue, which can significantly improve patient safety.

Alarm fatigue is one of the many challenges facing the healthcare industry today. According to an educational post on RN.com, companies are charged with developing alarms that help monitor patient conditions needing attention and are distinguishable from less important ones. An investigation conducted by the Boston Globe in 2011 attributed more than 200 deaths over a five-year period to alarm fatigue. The same probe documented an average of 942 alarms per day — about one critical alarm every 90 seconds on a 15-bed unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. 

To address the issue, Nihon Kohden has developed its Prefense Defensive Monitoring System, which enables the continuous monitoring of all at-risk patients, not only those in conventionally monitored areas such as critical care or telemetry.

“We work with the finest hospitals in the nation, and our goal is to provide the best monitoring technology so nursing staffs can offer the quality of care that patients have come to expect from their hospital,” said Mike Dashefsky, vice president, Nihon Kohden America. “Alarm fatigue is a critical issue impacting patient safety. As a pioneer in this arena, our commitment is to offer hospitals a solution that will help them provide a safer patient environment.”

Based in Irvine, Calif., Nihon Kohden America develops patient monitoring technology used in thousands of hospitals nationwide. The company’s Smart Modular Cable technology miniaturizes circuits found in traditional modules and embeds that circuitry into the cable. It is available for blood pressure, cardiac output, EtCO2, FiO2, temperature, BIS and thermistor respiration monitoring.