The iMATCH consortium has re-directed a project developed to monitor advanced therapy patients to COVID-19 patients and is being conducted at The Christie and Manchester Royal Infirmary (part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)), in collaboration with Aptus Clinical (a full-service CRO and industrial partner within the iMATCH group)and Zenzium.
The (COntinious Signs Monitoring In Covid-19 patients) COSMIC-19 pilot study aims to recruit patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The study uses wireless, wearable sensors, designed by Isansys, to continuously collect each patient’s vital signs, for up to 20 days, until either placed on a ventilator or discharged from hospital. Together with clinical data and observations, Zenzium will apply its Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to look for predictive patterns that could alert medical staff to a patient’s deterioration. Approximately 10-20% of hospital inpatients with COVID-19 will need intensive care. This trial aims to identify in advance patients who will deteriorate, and predict those who will need intensive care treatment to allow earlier intervention and lead to better chances of recovery. Professor Fiona Thistlethwaite who is leading on the study commented “this may mean we can optimise their management without the need for them to go to intensive care. We can also monitor the patients’ vital signs on a screen located in a different part of the hospital, and we hope that eventually this will mean that as well as keeping our patients safe, we can reduce exposure to the virus for our staff”. Dr Anthony Wilson, who is the Intensive Care Consultant coordinating the trial at MFT, stated “We are excited to be trialling new technology in Manchester that may allow us to intervene earlier and give patients a greater chance of getting better. This technology is a glimpse of how we will monitor hospital patients in the future and it’s fantastic that MFT and The Christie are frontrunners in such innovation”.
This study is funded by UKRI’s industrial strategy challenge fund (iMATCH award) and The Christie charity. The iMATCH team are excited to be able to redirect funds and resource during this global pandemic.
