A PhD study supported by the Royal Papworth Charity’s Innovation Fund is exploring the use of wearables in monitoring patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), looking to assess accuracy in estimations of peak VO₂ levels during everyday activities, hoping to enable earlier intervention in cases of deterioration.
Holly Le Winton, senior clinical respiratory physiologist, and Ben Knox-Brown, lead research respiratory physiologist, came up with the idea of measuring patients’ peak VO₂ levels and comparing them to exercise stress test results. “This is a key fitness marker which shows how well the body uses oxygen during intense activity,” Holly explained. “A decline in VO₂ max can be an early warning sign that something’s wrong and might mean a patient needs surgery or a change in treatment.”
Recognising the need to conduct a pilot study, the pair turned to the Innovation Fund supported by Royal Papworth Charity, which offers employees the chance to receive funding of up to £50,000 for their innovative ideas. Following a selection process described as “competitive”, the application was successful, and they were subsequently awarded £18,383 to take their idea forward.
The funding enabled the purchase of six wrist-worn and six chest-worn research-grade wearables, which, pending ethics approval, will be used to monitor around 60 CHD patients from across the country over a period of several days. “Essentially, the PhD is a feasibility study to assess whether peak VO₂ can be reliably estimated in CHD patients using wearables, and whether this kind of remote tracking can flag declines in CHD patients early enough to act,” Holly outlined.
As the study progresses, participants will be asked for their feedback around their experience, ease of use, and preference over in-clinic testing.
Tech in enabling proactive care
A HTN panel discussion explored the role of digital apps and wearables in supporting self-care and delivering personalised care, looking at how digital can improve patient pathways and experiences, and the data points which should be leveraged to enable health and care organisations to deliver tech enabled care now and in the future. Panellists included Rachel Binks, nurse consultant and clinical lead for digital and acute care at NHS Airedale Hub; Saif Ahmed, associate medical director, deputy CCIO, and clinical director for frailty at Tameside and Glossop; and James Maynard, product marketing director at Access.
Samsung is set to acquire Xealth, a healthcare integration platform, in a move to “unify fragmented health information and to empower individuals to take control of their own health”. By combining Samsung’s wearables capabilities and Xealth’s platform, the acquisition will reportedly bring together home health monitoring and clinical decision-making to promote preventative care and patient empowerment.
Earlier in the year, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust began trialling remote scanning technology which allows radiographers to operate the MRI scanner remotely through the Radiology Operations Command Centre platform. The trust shared how it has helped to reduce patient waiting times and promote flexibility, with extended opening hours to midnight reportedly allowing the trust to see “306 extra patients” in its first month.
