Hillrom Introduces Five New Innovations To Help Caregivers Fight COVID-19

CHICAGO, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillrom (NYSE: HRC) is introducing new medical device and connectivity advancements, as well as updated clinical protocols, to help caregivers more easily diagnose and treat COVID-19 patients.

"Our team has been working tirelessly to rapidly develop and deliver critical care devices and solutions for COVID -19 patients, from triage to treatment for those in the ICU," said John Groetelaars, Hillrom's president and CEO. "In addition to receiving emergency use authorization to enhance our MetaNeb® System, we are also pleased to offer new mobile care communications and innovative vital signs remote monitoring solutions to help save lives."

Advancing Respiratory Health and Support for Ventilated Patients
Hillrom has received emergency use authorization from the FDA to adapt the company's MetaNeb System to help COVID-19 patients. The MetaNeb System combines lung expansion, secretion clearance and aerosol delivery into a single integrated therapy session and can be used with any ventilator. Clinical studies show that oscillation and lung expansion therapy reduces time on the ventilator and reduces ICU length of stay¹. With its new closed-circuit design using a bacterial-viral filter, caregivers of patients treated with MetaNeb are better protected from aerosolized particles that may escape during treatment.

Two New Vital Signs Monitor Enhancements
Hillrom has integrated digital respiratory rate capture capabilities into its Welch Allyn Connex® Spot Monitor. This new technology utilizes the integrated pulse oximetry of the Connex Spot Monitor to simply and accurately capture this key measure. Changes in respiratory rate often occur in advance of changes in heart rate, blood pressure and other parameters². This technological advance can empower care teams to accurately monitor the respiratory rate of COVID-19 patients and could lead to earlier detection and intervention.

Hillrom will add a remote monitoring platform and simplified connectivity to its recently launched Spot® 4400 Vital Signs Monitor. This simple-to-use, clinical-grade integrated device will allow clinicians to remotely receive a complete set of vitals, including SPO₂, temperature and blood pressure, from patients requiring monitoring outside the hospital through a smart phone app and web portal.

Mobile Communication Solutions for Alternate Care Areas
Hillrom has created and deployed a simple, cloud-hosted version of its Voalte mobile solution, a method for allowing caregivers and patients in field hospitals to communicate. Voalte® Extend software empowers patients by giving them the ability to send a message from a mobile device directly to their nurse. This secure, Azure Cloud-based, ready-to-go solution can be deployed quickly using remote tools.

Increasing Access to COVID-19 Clinical Pathways and Predictive Analytics
Hillrom is partnering with AgileMD to offer constantly updated COVID-19 clinical pathways from leading centers managing these critical patients. With clinical recommendations changing daily and staff turning over quickly due to exposure and illness, instant access to advanced COVID-19 clinical pathways and predictive analytics through existing physician and nursing workflows empowers providers to quickly implement best practices for evidence-based, consistent care.

Existing Tools to Support Patients in the Prone Position
Placing both ventilated and non-ventilated patients in the prone position is emerging as an important strategy in the treatment of COVID-19 patients³. Studies show prone therapy improved survival rates in patients with advanced respiratory distress syndrome or hypoxemia⁴. Prone positioning optimizes lung recruitment and ventilation-perfusion matching, resulting in an improvement of gas exchange in 70% to 80% of ARDS patients. Existing Hillrom patient positioning equipment can be adapted for use in the ICU and med-surg environments to offer clinically proven prone movement and positioning capabilities for both ventilated and non-ventilated patients.

"Hillrom's delivery of these innovative solutions and clinical protocols demonstrates the breadth of our portfolio, our ability to meet the rapidly evolving needs of patients, and the ingenuity and dedication of our employees globally," said Mr. Groetelaars. "Our teams are demonstrating their unwavering commitment and focus on our mission of enhancing outcomes for patients and caregivers as the fight against COVID-19 continues."

About Hillrom
Hillrom is a global medical technology leader whose 10,000 employees have a single purpose: enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers by advancing connected care. Around the world, our innovations touch over 7 million patients each day. They help enable earlier diagnosis and treatment, optimize surgical efficiency and accelerate patient recovery while simplifying clinical communication and shifting care closer to home. We make these outcomes possible through connected smart beds, patient lifts, patient assessment and monitoring technologies, caregiver collaboration tools, respiratory care devices, advanced operating room equipment and more, delivering actionable, real-time insights at the point of care. Learn more at hillrom.com.

¹ Huynh TT, Liesching TN, Cereda M, Lei Y, Frazer MJ, Nahouraii MR, Diette GB, Efficacy of Oscillation and Lung Expansion in Reducing Postoperative Pulmonary Complication, Journal of the American College of Surgeons (2019)
² Dix, A. (2018). Respiratory rate 6: the benefits of continuous monitoring. Nursing Times [online] 114:11, 36-37.
³ "Prone Positioning in Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome". C Guerin et al. N Engl J Med 2013; 368: 2159-2169
⁴ "Prone Positioning in Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome". C Guerin et al. N Engl J Med 2013; 368: 2159-2169

SOURCE Hillrom

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