Moberg Demonstrates "Smart" Neuro ICU Project at White House SmartAmerica Expo

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier today, Moberg presented its Smart Neuro ICU project during the concluding event of the SmartAmerica Challenge, a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow project. Moberg showed the potential for Smart ICUs to optimize care of persons with brain injuries resulting in lives saved, increased safety, reduced costs to healthcare and society, and high-tech job growth.

The goal of the SmartAmerica Challenge is to facilitate research in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) – also termed the "Internet of Things." Moberg's Smart ICU consists of a system of connected patient monitors, hospital equipment, and data analytics to help caregivers make timely treatment decisions.

Brain injuries are complicated, costly medical problems. Annually, there are approximately 130,000 deaths from stroke and 50,000 from traumatic brain injury. The cost for head injured patients in the United States is approximately $76 billion per year (Centers for Disease Control, 2010). Optimizing care in the first hours and days can make a significant difference in patient outcome and healthcare costs. Moberg has received support from the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense to explore solutions for brain injury management.

The first Smart ICU is under development at the University Hospital Zurich under the direction of Dr. Emanuela Keller. Making treatment decisions for neurological patients requires interpretation of large, complex data sets. In the Smart ICU, Moberg's products will play the important role of integrating patient data from many diverse sources and displaying the information to assist caregivers with decision making. 

Dr. Keller's team also partnered with IBM Innovation Center Zurich to develop real-time analytic capabilities to help interpret data collected by Moberg's products. The team stated that, "The use of data mining and cognitive computing will not only change daily clinical practice, but also open up enormous potential for clinical studies and further scientific evidence."

As more is learned about the complexity of the brain, it is clear that a "one size fits all" treatment approach, where all patients receive the same care, is not optimal for neurological injuries. Instead, healthcare professionals favor more precise treatment plans, individualized for each patient. Moberg's comprehensive data collection coupled with advanced analytics will enable physicians to provide this individualized care.  Sites for Smart ICUs in the U.S. have been identified and will be operational in 2015.

SOURCE Moberg