Central aortic blood pressure (BP) measurement was a hot topic at the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and International Society of Hypertension (ISH) 2014 Joint Meeting a few weeks ago in Athens, Greece. Most notable amongst these was the debate as to whether central BP measurements are relevant for everyday clinical practice. It’s only logical to conclude that large clinical trials are necessary prior to arguing convincingly either way - we simply need more data. However, as someone who supports the development and utilization of technological advancements, I tend to believe that there is a place in clinical practice for these contemporary characterizations of cardiovascular health.

When thinking about the healthcare industry it is easy to become overwhelmed due to the sheer volume of what it encompasses and its ever-evolving nature. One continuing focus and challenge that cuts across the entire industry is the management of healthcare information, including BP measurement and other vital signs data. I had the opportunity earlier this month to attend the 2013 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference and exhibition held in New Orleans, LA which is entirely dedicated to this topic. Specifically, the HIMSS show brings together professionals from the healthcare industry with a goal of leveraging information technology (IT) and management systems for the improvement of healthcare delivery.

In my last blog post I provided 4 out of 8 new 3rd edition regulatory requirements that impact automated non-invasive blood pressure. These included out of range values, nominal blood pressure ranges, service modes and shock/vibration changes. Here are the final four regulatory requirements that must be addressed if you are designing a product with your own non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) or with NIBP supplied by an OEM provider.

If you're a medical device developer or active in the design process, you've probably been involved with creating a list of "must have" and "nice to have" features and requirements for a new or updated medical device. Some come from market feedback, industry trends, competitor analysis, R&D and others come from medical equipment Regulatory standards. When it comes to safety and meeting regulatory standards, this is always in the mandatory column. With several deadlines looming on the horizon, meeting the latest 3rd edition standards as well as being RoHS compliant are on almost everyone's must have list when starting a new project. So whether you are developing your own NIBP or purchasing OEM NIBP modules, you now have new requirements that need to be a part of your design not only in hardware and software but also in the product's technical documentation.

At SunTech, blood pressure measurement is our religion. In fact, we have a saying about it: "It's more than just a strength; it's who we are; it's what we do." With this singular focus, we get to see how blood pressure measurement is used across all different clinical applications. We see the nuanced experience that clinicians in different specialties and their patients encounter and that makes a difference in their use of automated BP. While it's rare that one of these nuances becomes the basis for policy, that's exactly what the state of New York is recommending in its advisory on patient care in moving ambulances.

Anyone who has been a patient in a doctor’s office knows what it’s like to get their blood pressure (“hold still while I inflate this cuff”), body temperature (“put this under your tongue”), and weight (“don’t worry, I’m sure your clothes add a few pounds”) measured. Historically, the nurse would write all of the measurements down on a paper chart for the doctor to review, and the chart would later go into the patient’s permanent file. But really, paper and pen are so 20th Century. Aren’t they?

In a recent article for MD+DI, we were asked to provide insight on OEM partnerships and what makes them work. In the article, we explain how the developers of the iPhone used OEM partnerships to produce a market-leading product and why those partnerships work; we also detail the numerous benefits and considerations for forming an alliance, such as:

1. Reducing development time and cost.
2. Minimizing investment in manufacturing.
3. Reducing production and material costs.
4. Helping gain market and product expertise.
   *To see the full article click here

As we have discussed in previous blogs, there’s a process in deciding whether to work with an OEM technology supplier and with whom to choose to partner once you determine that outside expertise is needed.  Combining academic insight with our 20 plus years experience providing OEM blood pressure technologies to the medical device industry, this article delves into how and why we think OEM partnerships work to help create market-changing products.

Being a part of the healthcare industry, we know that reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), such as MRSA (Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus) and C.Diff (Clostridium Difficile), continues to be a top priority for hospitals everywhere.  What is surprising though is that based on a survey conducted in July 2011, prospective patients are becoming increasingly aware of a hospital’s ability to protect their patients from HAIs and are using this information as a major factor in determining where they seek care.

Dr. Henry Black, former President of the American Society of Hypertension, presents this very question in his recent video on Medscape News. While Medscape requires a free login account to view their content, we felt this report rather significant and worthy of sharing.

In the video article, Dr. Black points out that the practices of how we measure blood pressure are changing as technology advances and becomes more available. He also explains that while home monitoring is becoming more commonplace, studies of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) are telling us more about its unique prognostic benefits. 

I don’t know about you, but I am bombarded daily with more information than I can possibly process or make use of. Yet each day dawns requiring that I sift through it all, applying only what is relevant or helpful to me and my family, and at times the whole process can be exhausting. The miracle of the information age is also its curse. ‘Connected’ devices are proliferating at an astonishing pace, inexorably finding their way into our living rooms, dens, kitchens, bedrooms, vehicles, and belt clips. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but how many Twitter messages can a sane person realistically absorb in a given day? And more importantly, which ones are really useful?

This same phenomenon is happening today in health care...

In our last OEM technology blog post, we discussed things to consider when deciding whether to work with an OEM clinical technology vendor.  If thinking through these issues encourages you to investigate further, here are three key ingredients to identifying the right partner who will give you the best chance for your ideas and products to succeed in today’s dynamic healthcare marketplace.
As you might expect from a partnership, the first two ingredients depend largely on the partners!

The SunTech blog was established as a discussion place about blood pressure (BP) measurement because that's what we do. Naturally, we have tried to share our understanding of the clinical application experiences with using automated BP measurement in practicing medicine. However, we also partner with other manufacturers to integrate OEM NIBP technology in their medical devices. Some of these are patient monitors that you see in all parts of the hospital. But some of the more specialized devices are used to save lives in an ambulance or Lifeflight, on commercial airline flights, and even in the battlefield. Regardless of the application, these companies all considered whether they should buy, build, or partner in order to achieve their goals. Here are the top five factors companies should consider when deciding whether to use an OEM technology supplier:

The regulatory world is changing. Countries are examining and changing the rules and regulations that govern the way businesses interact and make an impact. In the US, with his editorial article in the Wall Street Journal and his State of the Union Address, President Obama makes a clear message about government regulatory systems. He wants balance between commerce & safety, progress & common sense. Obama calls for regulations to be reviewed so that the US “(protects its) safety, health and environment while promoting economic growth.” While the call to update regulations is clear, the balance that is called for lies in a well-known, well-trodden, broad, gray area. It’s this same area that all countries are trying to define, regulate, and enforce for the good of their citizens.

Traditionally, we try not to engage in excessive self-promotion on the SunTech Blog. But last month marked the 24^th anniversary of SunTech’s first journey into space, and we’d like to let our readers know about this important and interesting chapter in our history. In the pre-dawn darkness of January 12, 1986, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying with it a special version of the SunTech Accutracker II ABPM device. When Columbia landed successfully at Edwards Air Force base after 98 orbits, it may have marked the end of mission STS-61C, but it was just the beginning of SunTech’s foray into space-based research.

Do you have a smartphone? Have you downloaded any apps that help you track or measure your own vital signs information—like blood pressure, heart rate, or glucose level? If you’re a health care professional, maybe you’ve downloaded apps that help you measure and stay informed about your patients’ vitals.  Either way, mobile healthcare-related apps are creating significant buzz within the mobile computing industry. Figures vary for the size of the home health and telehealth markets, but nobody questions that the number is in the billions of dollars, and such sweet numbers inevitably attract lots of bees.

At SunTech Medical, we’re always thinking about blood pressure (BP) and how current measurement tools and techniques might be improved. In many ways, “routine” blood pressure measurement hasn’t changed much over the last 100 years. But innovative tools like ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) have helped us learn about the importance of masked hypertension, overnight dipping, and blood pressure variability, their impact on clinical outcomes, and the subsequent guidance of hypertension treatment.

We love to highlight our partners’ achievements.  While some of these have been highly technical BP measurement endeavours in the pursuit of expanding scientific understanding such as experiments on the International Space Station or Mount Everest, the Economist trumpets one which may help anyone who travels by plane. Congratulations to our colleagues at RDT!

“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.”  ~B.F. Skinner, Contingencies of Reinforcement, 1969

Sometimes, the more technology aims to help us, the more burden we take on to ensure it works. These days, automated blood pressure monitors are rapidly displacing mercury and aneroid sphygmomanometers in physician’s offices. As we move farther away from the 100 year old standard of listening for Korotkoff sounds to obtain a BP measurement, and towards the simple press of a button, there are a new set of usage factors that clinicians must remember when encountering problems.

Below is a list of the Top 5 reasons a clinician would encounter an error code when attempting to take an automated BP.

SunTech Medical has had a long association with space research. Our first ambulatory blood pressure monitor, the Accutracker, and our stress BP monitor, Tango; have been used onboard the NASA space shuttle as far back as 1988. That association continued last year through an OEM partnership with advanced technology company, Damec.

Blood pressure is everywhere nowadays. While we are used to seeing it measured in the hospital, clinic, and even at home, what about on an airplane? RDT makes this possible with their product and service called Tempus IC^TM, which is used by non-medically trained staff to save lives in remote locations such as in-flight or at sea.