Erin Byrne, Chief Technology Officer, TE Connectivity03.10.23
From home healthcare to doctors’ offices and hospitals, the medical equipment used to diagnose, monitor, and treat patients has evolved and been influenced by major advancements in the Internet of Things, creating the more connected healthcare ecosystem that exists today. Sensors are at the center of this connected healthcare ecosystem and play a crucial role in these medical industry advancements, enabling the collection of accurate data that allows medical providers and patients to access vital health condition information that can be used to improve outcomes and quality of life.
The role of sensors has become increasingly significant in the healthcare ecosystem as the world becomes more connected, intelligent, and automated. New sensor technologies are helping to lower costs, improve patient outcomes and better manage health conditions by enabling deeper data-driven decisions. These sensors monitor medical equipment and can also monitor the patient’s body and condition during surgery or other medical procedures, as well as on an on-going basis. This allows doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to better understand critical patient situations quickly and accurately, and empower patients to be more informed about their own health.
Second is an increase in home healthcare, due to longer life expectancies, the increased desire for improved quality of life, and even the need to reduce healthcare costs by limiting hospital visits and stays.
Particularly since the pandemic, many medical procedures, such as kidney dialysis treatment, have been made mobile, taking place in the patient’s home, for comfort, convenience, and cost savings.
Finally, the third factor is the increased use of robots in medical procedures, whether it’s a surgeon operating remotely, or employing a robot for maximum accuracy and repeatability. Robotic or robot-assisted surgery allows surgeons to perform complex procedures with extreme precision and control. Remote surgery, or telesurgery, allows a surgeon to control equipment remotely through a telecommunications system.
None of those advancements would be possible without sensors. As manufacturers embed sensors in more and more devices, small size, ruggedness, and reliability are increasingly important. In today’s healthcare environment, sensors must meet rigid requirements, including durable packaging for harsh medical conditions, ultra-compact packaging for applications with limited space, digital signal processing for intelligent sensing, low power requirements, and multi-sensor integration for multiple types of measurement.
What’s more, miniaturization makes for smaller, lighter medical pumps, and provides them the ability to detect smaller air bubbles, providing more safety and security. Respiratory care equipment also benefits from miniature sensors—including mobile, battery-operated CPAP machines; easy to carry, portable oxygen machines; and home ventilators.
Minimally invasive surgical procedures are another important application for sensor miniaturization. Minimally invasive equipment enables doctors to probe smaller areas within organ systems or parts of the body. It also allows surgeons to make smaller incisions, making surgery easier on patients. During a procedure, a variety of sensors deliver feedback to surgeons. Force sensors tell the surgeon when a cutting tool is touching human tissue; temperature sensors can help protect nearby tissue during laser surgery; and pressure sensors allow for control of the most sensitive body parts where managing gases is an important part of the procedure.
When devices are smaller and more flexible, more sensors can be included in procedures while maintaining the small incision requirement. More predictable outcomes and faster recovery reduces the average length of hospital stays. We also improve sustainability thanks to the ability to use fewer materials and to limit material and shipping costs.
A great example of how sensor miniaturization is improving procedure outcomes is in cataract surgery. In this procedure, a tiny incision is made in the cornea to remove a clouded lens, requiring precise monitoring of pressure on the eye. The surgeon must maintain exactly the right amount of pressure to avoid damaging the eye. Today’s sensors are extremely precise and can provide high performance in minimally invasive surgical tools.
Sensors also assess physical conditions such as the temperature of a room or the amount of force being applied to an object. The sensor’s primary output is an analog signal. Digitization is the process of converting that analog signal from the sensor into a digital format, which can then be used to more easily perform complex computations.
Multi-sensor integration enables the capture of multiple types of measurements. When various digital sensor outputs are combined together, it’s called sensor fusion. This creates one very accurate, combined signal that is more valuable than the sum of its parts. Sensor fusion can provide new measurements, fresh insights, and innovative ways of looking at a healthcare issue for the benefit of the practitioner and the patient.
1. Medical Pumps
Medical pumps include equipment such as infusion pumps, hemodialysis, and blood flow monitoring applications. These devices utilize sensors to confirm continuous flow, detect occlusion, externally detect bubbles in lines, and measure fluid levels.
Pump failure is not an option, as it could have fatal consequences. So advanced sensors to measure force, pressure, position, temperature, and ultrasonic sensing are crucial. These sensors are integrated into smart pumps, which measure liquid levels and continuous flow, detect occlusion, and alert the user to air bubbles in lines. Overall, sensors allow medical pumps to provide better clinical data, while optimizing precision and reliability.
Infusion pumps provide precise control of fluids to coordinate accurate, reliable delivery of nutrients and medications into the body; they use a combination of force, position, temperature, and ultrasonic sensors. Microfused force sensors detect blockages in the tubing, and anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensors can detect linear or rotary position to determine flow and volume. Temperature sensors can monitor fluid temperatures to help control body temperature. In addition, a piezo transducer can detect bubbles in the fluids, which can be fatal.
Medical mobility is a growing healthcare trend, providing patients an improved quality of life while still receiving life-saving care. Small, lightweight, wearable insulin pumps mimic a healthy pancreas, allowing patients to monitor glucose and insulin levels outside of a medical facility, while reducing the number of pin pricks and self-injections needed. In the past, insulin pumps were big and bulky, roughly the size of a backpack. As a result of miniaturization, now they are smaller than a smartphone and equipped with sensors that collect and communicate accurate data in these devices The sensors used in medical pumps have also followed this miniaturization trend.
Sensors also play a key role in the advancement of kidney dialysis machines. These machines treat kidney disease patients, purifying the blood by removing waste and toxins, and a variety of sensors are used in the machines to detect bubbles and leaks; monitor liquid level, flow, and pressure in the blood circulation and dialysate; and monitor collection bags. Further, since dialysis treatment generally makes the patient cold, temperature regulating sensors can even improve comfort.
There are also sensors for syringe pumps, which administer and monitor nutrients and medication. Most syringe pumps are controlled by one control system, sometimes referred to as the “brain,” which controls one or more channels, each with a pump and syringe. The “brain” uses sensors to monitor fluid amounts, position, and flow rate, and detect bubbles, blockages, and empty syringes. These sensors must work with the pump, have quick response times, and integrate easily with the logic system.
2. Minimally Invasive Equipment
Minimally invasive technology includes a variety of medical tools and equipment, from non-invasive blood pressure monitoring to minimally invasive surgical procedures. Force, pressure, and temperature are some of the sensors used in minimally invasive equipment technology. These products have broadened the ways in which doctors can diagnose and treat patients, offering both more advanced procedures and easier recoveries.
Minimally invasive surgical tools are advancing orthopedics, cosmetic, breast, vascular, thoracic, gynecology, bariatrics, cardiac, gastrointestinal, and urology surgeries. Minimally invasive surgery benefits patients with more precise incisions, smaller wounds, minimal blood loss, fewer complications, less pain, quicker healing, and shorter hospital stays. These sensing technologies monitor the medical equipment and are also placed within the patient’s body to monitor and relay vital information to the surgeon. Sensors for these applications are built to be durable and extremely compact to fit into catheters and still leave room for other sensors and tools. For example, TE’s Intrasense absolute pressure sensor is tiny enough to fit into a 1-French hypo tube—that’s smaller than President Lincoln’s nose on the U.S. penny.
When a patient presents with arrhythmia—a heart abnormality whereby the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly—doctors use ablation catheters to access the heart through an artery. This procedure produces an ablation line or scar tissue on the heart to block the abnormal electric signals affecting the heartbeat. Temperature and pressure sensors are critical for improving ablation catheter outcomes. Such sensors are extremely small and must meet stringent medical requirements for these challenging procedures.
A third component of minimally invasive equipment is pressure catheters, which monitor multiple parts of the body, including the spinal column, blood flow, and airways. The constant monitoring of arterial or ventricular blood pressures is a common use of pressure catheters, and advanced micro-sensors used in pressure catheters have made coronary artery bypass surgery much less invasive than in the past. These sensors, too, allow for precise monitoring in small spaces.
Finally, there are thermo-dilution catheters, which use sensors to allow for monitoring of cardiac output, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, and central venous pressure in minimally invasive heart and lung procedures. These micro-sensors provide accurate measurements of temperature and pressure, making it possible for these heart and lung procedures to be minimally invasive.
3. Respiratory Care
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for technologically advanced home respiratory care devices. Respiratory care devices mechanically supply respiratory breathing gas to patients suffering from an impaired respiratory function, either in a hospital setting or at home, depending on the device.
Respiratory care equipment includes ventilators that pump breathable air into and out of the lungs, both invasive (through an artificial airway) and non-invasive (through a face mask). It also includes anesthesia machines, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, and oxygen concentrators, which mechanically supply and control respiratory gases for medical applications.
Anesthesia machines use a blend of gases mixed and delivered in precise amounts through multiple lines for each type of gas, while filters, regulators, and valves ensure the right amount of each gas. For example, highly accurate and precise sensors sensitive enough to detect minute flow rates around the zero point of respiratory flow and also measure flow rates of several hundred liters per minute are critical in these devices. These sensors must also be durable enough for longer lifecycles.
CPAP machines are used to force breathable air into a patient’s lungs to treat sleep apnea—a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep, increasing the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In these machines, sensors measure pressure, vibration, temperature, and humidity. Additionally, photo-optic sensors are used to help doctors diagnose sleep apnea by measuring blood oxygen levels. Piezo film is also used to measure vibrations in breathing, providing a status check on breathing to both doctors and patients.
Invasive mechanical ventilators are used to pump air directly into the trachea and the lungs. These ventilators are found in critical care settings and require sedation for patient use. This equipment, including an endotracheal tube and mechanical ventilator, assists in stabilizing patients experiencing respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Within these devices, sensors accurately measure volume, pressure, flow, and humidity in order to deliver a tidal breath under positive pressure.
Used both in hospital and home care settings, non-invasive ventilators pump air with supplemental oxygen via a mask that is placed over the mouth and nose in patients suffering from acute respiratory failure such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute decompensated heart failure. Sensors are critical in these devices as they automatically modify ventilation to suit the patient’s needs, enabling better prediction and interpretation of the performance of the device. What’s more, sensors for non-invasive ventilators maintain proper air flow, respiration control, barometric compensation, fan speed regulation, and air and gas temperature regulation.
Oxygen concentrators supply oxygen-enriched air through oxygen tanks and lower the nitrogen content in the air. These mobile respiratory care devices help patients who can breathe unassisted but have a low level of blood oxygen. Here, sensors are again critical to making these devices work, and make these devices more portable, allowing a patient’s oxygen supply to last longer when they are away from home. In fact, oxygen concentrators require a multitude of sensors to operate, including temperature and humidity sensors for patient comfort. Low pressure sensors control airflow and the exhalation process while monitoring filter cleanliness. Pressure sensors monitor the oxygen tank and air supply pressure. Absolute sensors can also be integrated to manage barometric compensation. All these sensors work with the oxygen concentrator and tank to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the equipment, as well as the power requirements, versus using an oxygen tank alone.
4. Vital Signs Monitoring Equipment
Both in telemedicine and critical care, vital signs monitoring equipment uses sensors to measure body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure—the most common indicators of a patient’s health status.
With the development of new sensor technology, vital signs monitoring can be measured in medical settings as well as remotely from a patient’s home. Sensors enable the collection of data in various vital sign monitoring applications, helping both patients and doctors to monitor health conditions. One such technology—piezoelectric film sensors—is sensitive enough to measure a patient’s pulse and respiration rate based on physical contact, eliminating the need for a nurse to use a blood pressure cuff or pulse oximetry reading. These films can be incorporated into an office examination table or a waiting room seat, collecting the patient’s vital signs before they’re even seen by the doctor. This can be used for veterinary care too. It’s often difficult to get the vital signs of animals, but this makes it much easier.
Since the pandemic, demand for telemedicine—the care of a patient via a remote visit with a physician—has greatly accelerated. Telehealth started to help patients living in remote areas or to reduce costs of medical visits, but during COVID-19 its adoption grew quickly due to safety concerns. Today, it continues to be a way to reduce costs, increase patient comfort, and better manage disease. Examples of sensors at work in a telemedicine context include home blood pressure machines, thermometers, and sleep machines.
In critical care scenarios, sensors in the surgical suite, patient room, or intensive care unit detect and monitor patient vital signs, allowing healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose and treat hospitalized patients. Small, connected sensors provide a constant flow of crucial data on temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure to help determine a patient’s status, making it less likely unexpected events or trends will go undetected. Early detection leads to reduced costs and, even more importantly, better patient outcomes.
Erin Byrne is vice president and chief technology officer for TE Sensors, a division of TE Connectivity—a $1 billion provider of advanced sensors for the industrial, medical, and transportation markets. She is an expert in developing, manufacturing, and implementing sensors for Industrial Internet of Things and medical applications. She can be reached at erin.byrne@te.com.
The role of sensors has become increasingly significant in the healthcare ecosystem as the world becomes more connected, intelligent, and automated. New sensor technologies are helping to lower costs, improve patient outcomes and better manage health conditions by enabling deeper data-driven decisions. These sensors monitor medical equipment and can also monitor the patient’s body and condition during surgery or other medical procedures, as well as on an on-going basis. This allows doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to better understand critical patient situations quickly and accurately, and empower patients to be more informed about their own health.
Three Factors Driving the Advancement of Sensor Technology
In my view, there are three main factors driving sensor technology advances. The first is an increase in consumer-based, personalized monitoring and feedback. Today, many of us are wondering about our own personal health, including sleep habits, physical fitness, blood pressure, or heart rate. The wide availability of devices like wearable fitness trackers and heart rate monitors has led to greater consumer awareness and adoption of the ability to monitor personal health.Second is an increase in home healthcare, due to longer life expectancies, the increased desire for improved quality of life, and even the need to reduce healthcare costs by limiting hospital visits and stays.
Particularly since the pandemic, many medical procedures, such as kidney dialysis treatment, have been made mobile, taking place in the patient’s home, for comfort, convenience, and cost savings.
Finally, the third factor is the increased use of robots in medical procedures, whether it’s a surgeon operating remotely, or employing a robot for maximum accuracy and repeatability. Robotic or robot-assisted surgery allows surgeons to perform complex procedures with extreme precision and control. Remote surgery, or telesurgery, allows a surgeon to control equipment remotely through a telecommunications system.
None of those advancements would be possible without sensors. As manufacturers embed sensors in more and more devices, small size, ruggedness, and reliability are increasingly important. In today’s healthcare environment, sensors must meet rigid requirements, including durable packaging for harsh medical conditions, ultra-compact packaging for applications with limited space, digital signal processing for intelligent sensing, low power requirements, and multi-sensor integration for multiple types of measurement.
Sensor Miniaturization and Digitization
To meet the growing demand for medical device portability, miniaturization is critically important. Miniaturization allows for tiny, lightweight sensors to fit into smaller medical devices that are connected to the internet, often via mobile applications. These devices are giving consumers more detailed and valuable personal health information than ever before.What’s more, miniaturization makes for smaller, lighter medical pumps, and provides them the ability to detect smaller air bubbles, providing more safety and security. Respiratory care equipment also benefits from miniature sensors—including mobile, battery-operated CPAP machines; easy to carry, portable oxygen machines; and home ventilators.
Minimally invasive surgical procedures are another important application for sensor miniaturization. Minimally invasive equipment enables doctors to probe smaller areas within organ systems or parts of the body. It also allows surgeons to make smaller incisions, making surgery easier on patients. During a procedure, a variety of sensors deliver feedback to surgeons. Force sensors tell the surgeon when a cutting tool is touching human tissue; temperature sensors can help protect nearby tissue during laser surgery; and pressure sensors allow for control of the most sensitive body parts where managing gases is an important part of the procedure.
When devices are smaller and more flexible, more sensors can be included in procedures while maintaining the small incision requirement. More predictable outcomes and faster recovery reduces the average length of hospital stays. We also improve sustainability thanks to the ability to use fewer materials and to limit material and shipping costs.
A great example of how sensor miniaturization is improving procedure outcomes is in cataract surgery. In this procedure, a tiny incision is made in the cornea to remove a clouded lens, requiring precise monitoring of pressure on the eye. The surgeon must maintain exactly the right amount of pressure to avoid damaging the eye. Today’s sensors are extremely precise and can provide high performance in minimally invasive surgical tools.
Sensors also assess physical conditions such as the temperature of a room or the amount of force being applied to an object. The sensor’s primary output is an analog signal. Digitization is the process of converting that analog signal from the sensor into a digital format, which can then be used to more easily perform complex computations.
Multi-sensor integration enables the capture of multiple types of measurements. When various digital sensor outputs are combined together, it’s called sensor fusion. This creates one very accurate, combined signal that is more valuable than the sum of its parts. Sensor fusion can provide new measurements, fresh insights, and innovative ways of looking at a healthcare issue for the benefit of the practitioner and the patient.
Advancements in Four Key Medical Areas
There are four key areas in medical products where groundbreaking sensor technology is enabling advancements in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of patients. These include medical pumps, minimally invasive equipment, respiratory care, and vital signs monitoring.1. Medical Pumps
Medical pumps include equipment such as infusion pumps, hemodialysis, and blood flow monitoring applications. These devices utilize sensors to confirm continuous flow, detect occlusion, externally detect bubbles in lines, and measure fluid levels.
Pump failure is not an option, as it could have fatal consequences. So advanced sensors to measure force, pressure, position, temperature, and ultrasonic sensing are crucial. These sensors are integrated into smart pumps, which measure liquid levels and continuous flow, detect occlusion, and alert the user to air bubbles in lines. Overall, sensors allow medical pumps to provide better clinical data, while optimizing precision and reliability.
Infusion pumps provide precise control of fluids to coordinate accurate, reliable delivery of nutrients and medications into the body; they use a combination of force, position, temperature, and ultrasonic sensors. Microfused force sensors detect blockages in the tubing, and anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensors can detect linear or rotary position to determine flow and volume. Temperature sensors can monitor fluid temperatures to help control body temperature. In addition, a piezo transducer can detect bubbles in the fluids, which can be fatal.
Medical mobility is a growing healthcare trend, providing patients an improved quality of life while still receiving life-saving care. Small, lightweight, wearable insulin pumps mimic a healthy pancreas, allowing patients to monitor glucose and insulin levels outside of a medical facility, while reducing the number of pin pricks and self-injections needed. In the past, insulin pumps were big and bulky, roughly the size of a backpack. As a result of miniaturization, now they are smaller than a smartphone and equipped with sensors that collect and communicate accurate data in these devices The sensors used in medical pumps have also followed this miniaturization trend.
Sensors also play a key role in the advancement of kidney dialysis machines. These machines treat kidney disease patients, purifying the blood by removing waste and toxins, and a variety of sensors are used in the machines to detect bubbles and leaks; monitor liquid level, flow, and pressure in the blood circulation and dialysate; and monitor collection bags. Further, since dialysis treatment generally makes the patient cold, temperature regulating sensors can even improve comfort.
There are also sensors for syringe pumps, which administer and monitor nutrients and medication. Most syringe pumps are controlled by one control system, sometimes referred to as the “brain,” which controls one or more channels, each with a pump and syringe. The “brain” uses sensors to monitor fluid amounts, position, and flow rate, and detect bubbles, blockages, and empty syringes. These sensors must work with the pump, have quick response times, and integrate easily with the logic system.
2. Minimally Invasive Equipment
Minimally invasive technology includes a variety of medical tools and equipment, from non-invasive blood pressure monitoring to minimally invasive surgical procedures. Force, pressure, and temperature are some of the sensors used in minimally invasive equipment technology. These products have broadened the ways in which doctors can diagnose and treat patients, offering both more advanced procedures and easier recoveries.
Minimally invasive surgical tools are advancing orthopedics, cosmetic, breast, vascular, thoracic, gynecology, bariatrics, cardiac, gastrointestinal, and urology surgeries. Minimally invasive surgery benefits patients with more precise incisions, smaller wounds, minimal blood loss, fewer complications, less pain, quicker healing, and shorter hospital stays. These sensing technologies monitor the medical equipment and are also placed within the patient’s body to monitor and relay vital information to the surgeon. Sensors for these applications are built to be durable and extremely compact to fit into catheters and still leave room for other sensors and tools. For example, TE’s Intrasense absolute pressure sensor is tiny enough to fit into a 1-French hypo tube—that’s smaller than President Lincoln’s nose on the U.S. penny.
When a patient presents with arrhythmia—a heart abnormality whereby the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly—doctors use ablation catheters to access the heart through an artery. This procedure produces an ablation line or scar tissue on the heart to block the abnormal electric signals affecting the heartbeat. Temperature and pressure sensors are critical for improving ablation catheter outcomes. Such sensors are extremely small and must meet stringent medical requirements for these challenging procedures.
A third component of minimally invasive equipment is pressure catheters, which monitor multiple parts of the body, including the spinal column, blood flow, and airways. The constant monitoring of arterial or ventricular blood pressures is a common use of pressure catheters, and advanced micro-sensors used in pressure catheters have made coronary artery bypass surgery much less invasive than in the past. These sensors, too, allow for precise monitoring in small spaces.
Finally, there are thermo-dilution catheters, which use sensors to allow for monitoring of cardiac output, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, and central venous pressure in minimally invasive heart and lung procedures. These micro-sensors provide accurate measurements of temperature and pressure, making it possible for these heart and lung procedures to be minimally invasive.
3. Respiratory Care
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the demand for technologically advanced home respiratory care devices. Respiratory care devices mechanically supply respiratory breathing gas to patients suffering from an impaired respiratory function, either in a hospital setting or at home, depending on the device.
Respiratory care equipment includes ventilators that pump breathable air into and out of the lungs, both invasive (through an artificial airway) and non-invasive (through a face mask). It also includes anesthesia machines, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, and oxygen concentrators, which mechanically supply and control respiratory gases for medical applications.
Anesthesia machines use a blend of gases mixed and delivered in precise amounts through multiple lines for each type of gas, while filters, regulators, and valves ensure the right amount of each gas. For example, highly accurate and precise sensors sensitive enough to detect minute flow rates around the zero point of respiratory flow and also measure flow rates of several hundred liters per minute are critical in these devices. These sensors must also be durable enough for longer lifecycles.
CPAP machines are used to force breathable air into a patient’s lungs to treat sleep apnea—a condition where breathing is interrupted during sleep, increasing the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In these machines, sensors measure pressure, vibration, temperature, and humidity. Additionally, photo-optic sensors are used to help doctors diagnose sleep apnea by measuring blood oxygen levels. Piezo film is also used to measure vibrations in breathing, providing a status check on breathing to both doctors and patients.
Invasive mechanical ventilators are used to pump air directly into the trachea and the lungs. These ventilators are found in critical care settings and require sedation for patient use. This equipment, including an endotracheal tube and mechanical ventilator, assists in stabilizing patients experiencing respiratory failure or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Within these devices, sensors accurately measure volume, pressure, flow, and humidity in order to deliver a tidal breath under positive pressure.
Used both in hospital and home care settings, non-invasive ventilators pump air with supplemental oxygen via a mask that is placed over the mouth and nose in patients suffering from acute respiratory failure such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute decompensated heart failure. Sensors are critical in these devices as they automatically modify ventilation to suit the patient’s needs, enabling better prediction and interpretation of the performance of the device. What’s more, sensors for non-invasive ventilators maintain proper air flow, respiration control, barometric compensation, fan speed regulation, and air and gas temperature regulation.
Oxygen concentrators supply oxygen-enriched air through oxygen tanks and lower the nitrogen content in the air. These mobile respiratory care devices help patients who can breathe unassisted but have a low level of blood oxygen. Here, sensors are again critical to making these devices work, and make these devices more portable, allowing a patient’s oxygen supply to last longer when they are away from home. In fact, oxygen concentrators require a multitude of sensors to operate, including temperature and humidity sensors for patient comfort. Low pressure sensors control airflow and the exhalation process while monitoring filter cleanliness. Pressure sensors monitor the oxygen tank and air supply pressure. Absolute sensors can also be integrated to manage barometric compensation. All these sensors work with the oxygen concentrator and tank to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the equipment, as well as the power requirements, versus using an oxygen tank alone.
4. Vital Signs Monitoring Equipment
Both in telemedicine and critical care, vital signs monitoring equipment uses sensors to measure body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure—the most common indicators of a patient’s health status.
With the development of new sensor technology, vital signs monitoring can be measured in medical settings as well as remotely from a patient’s home. Sensors enable the collection of data in various vital sign monitoring applications, helping both patients and doctors to monitor health conditions. One such technology—piezoelectric film sensors—is sensitive enough to measure a patient’s pulse and respiration rate based on physical contact, eliminating the need for a nurse to use a blood pressure cuff or pulse oximetry reading. These films can be incorporated into an office examination table or a waiting room seat, collecting the patient’s vital signs before they’re even seen by the doctor. This can be used for veterinary care too. It’s often difficult to get the vital signs of animals, but this makes it much easier.
Since the pandemic, demand for telemedicine—the care of a patient via a remote visit with a physician—has greatly accelerated. Telehealth started to help patients living in remote areas or to reduce costs of medical visits, but during COVID-19 its adoption grew quickly due to safety concerns. Today, it continues to be a way to reduce costs, increase patient comfort, and better manage disease. Examples of sensors at work in a telemedicine context include home blood pressure machines, thermometers, and sleep machines.
In critical care scenarios, sensors in the surgical suite, patient room, or intensive care unit detect and monitor patient vital signs, allowing healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose and treat hospitalized patients. Small, connected sensors provide a constant flow of crucial data on temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure to help determine a patient’s status, making it less likely unexpected events or trends will go undetected. Early detection leads to reduced costs and, even more importantly, better patient outcomes.
Conclusion
Healthcare is continuing to evolve and offers smarter, more connected mobile solutions in a wide variety of applications as demonstrated in this article. This is fueling the push to further develop highly advanced force, piezo, pressure, and temperature medical sensors, making them smaller, more power-efficient, and reliable. These advancements will continue to not only help deliver accurate data, but also empower both patients and healthcare providers to improve healthcare outcomes.Erin Byrne is vice president and chief technology officer for TE Sensors, a division of TE Connectivity—a $1 billion provider of advanced sensors for the industrial, medical, and transportation markets. She is an expert in developing, manufacturing, and implementing sensors for Industrial Internet of Things and medical applications. She can be reached at erin.byrne@te.com.