AD-HOC CLINICAL MONITORING OF AN LVAD USING WIRELESS BLUETOOTH TECHNOLOGY
Kevin S. Holmes, Sebastian S. Szyszkowicz, Tofy V. Mussivand · ASAIO Journal · 2004
Purpose: A system for wirelessly monitoring LVAD parameters in patients post-implant including after hospital discharge is not currently available. A pilot demonstration was conducted to assess the use of wireless Bluetooth technology for ad-hoc clinical monitoring. Methods: Bluetooth a short-range data radio standard was selected due to low power requirements and other factors including cost, advanced security and operation in the unlicensed Industrial-Scientific band (2.4 Ghz). A demonstration system was developed using off-the-shelf Bluetooth enabled hardware including; 2 Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) devices (Sony Clie TC-50) and a cell phone (Sony Ericsson T681). Custom software modules for the PDA were developed to allow the device to act as either a LVAD simulator or a LVAD Patient Monitor. Results: Utilizing the developed system two scenarios were successfully demonstrated. 1) In Hospital: The PDA running the LVAD monitor program was able to wirelessly locate and connect to the LVAD simulator via Bluetooth, allowing device parameters to be observed in real-time. 2) Out of Hospital: The LVAD simulator was able to generate a clinical alert (including specific device parameters) based on preset ranges (for example low flow), and automatically send this alert via a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone to a hospital based e-mail address. Conclusion: This demonstration project highlights the potential for the use of Bluetooth technology for ad-hoc monitoring of medical devices such as an LVADs. Potential benefits include enhancing patients' peace of mind and the ability to record important clinical events post hospital discharge.