Into production and commercialisation: Medi-OS medically certified operating system

The pandemic has challenged healthcare providers around the world as they deliver care for patients with non-COVID-19 cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. By necessity, remote consultations have rapidly replaced many in-person clinics and assessments. In parallel, patients have also quickly adopted the convenience of medical monitoring in the home as they have become skilled, activated, and empowered by self-care.

While the pandemic has driven this rapid adoption of innovation, it has also had a significant negative impact on patients recovering from heart procedures and from hospital stays due to non-coronavirus-related respiratory episodes.

Many in-person cardiac rehabilitation programmes and their equivalent for patients with lung disease (pulmonary rehabilitation) have closed and these services may not re-open for a considerable time. For example, the waiting times for a pulmonary rehabilitation programme after leaving hospital in some areas is now over 12 months.

The progression of a patient along their care pathway begins before they are discharged from hospital in a process which we prefer to call "recovery" rather than "rehabilitation." A chain of healthcare professionals work with patients at distinct stages of recovery and, as long as no part of this pathway is overwhelmed, it is seamless. When the programme fails because waiting lists grow too long, or patients disengage, the chances of the patient being re-admitted to hospital increase significantly, sometimes resulting in cycles of repeated hospitalisation via the emergency department. This is not a good outcome for the patient, for the over-stretched NHS or for the taxpayer.

Aseptika Ltd has developed digital tools for use by the patient during their recovery, delivering education to empower the management of their condition. Progress is monitored remotely by their clinical team.

In clinical trials of our protocol called Active+me REMOTE, patient engagement in self-management can be assessed through their Patient Activation Measurement (PAM) score. This score improves substantially as a result, predicting a 20% decrease in the risk of further hospitalisation. Active+me REMOTE combines our connected medical monitors, apps, informatics, education, behavioural change, motivation to adhere to medication schedules and advice delivered remotely by their medical team, family and care-givers.

In this project we bring all of this together at the patient's wrist in BuddyWOTCH (Walking, Oxygen, Temperature, Chronical, Heart & breathing rate) as a medically-certified wearable. BuddyWOTCH is always connected through the mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Vitally, and unlike consumer products, BuddyWOTCH will be certified as a medical device suitable for use as a "life-critical" medical monitor in hospitals and after the patient returns home, generating trusted information for the patient, their family and their doctors.