2 Nov 2009 07:00
2 November 2009 Toumaz Holdings Limited (`Toumaz Holdings' or the `Group') Landmark Clinical Trial of Sensium(TM) Wireless Body Monitoring System
Toumaz Holdings (AIM:TMZ) is pleased to announce it has begun clinical trials of its Sensium(TM) "digital plaster" wireless body monitoring system at St Mary's Hospital, London (part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust). The ultra-low power body-worn Sensium(TM) digital plaster continuously monitors multiple vital signs, including skin temperature, heart rate and respiration. Once trials are completed in Q1 2010, the disposable digital plaster is expected to receive CE accreditation enabling commercial sales in Europe. Trials in US hospitals will commence in H1 2010.
In the milestone trial, which is sponsored by CareFusion Corporation , volunteers and patient groups will be provided with the Sensium(TM) digital plaster and as a wireless, unobtrusive and disposable device patients can remain mobile while multiple vital signs are continuously monitored. The trial will compare the quality of physiological data within a clinical setting acquired by the digital plaster system with data from current monitors in use at hospitals that are typically bulky, expensive and wired.
The digital plaster is based on new generation Sensium(TM) wireless technology, designed and developed by Toumaz Technology Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, that provides a complete infrastructure to allow healthcare providers to non-intrusively monitor the human body continuously, wirelessly and intelligently and at low-cost. Sensium(TM) delivers clinical-quality data and intelligently integrates it into an electronic medical record via a network built on the Group's power-optimised wireless operating and network sensor system Nano Sensor Protocol (NSP). The digital plaster is initially targeted for use in healthcare monitoring applications such as acute care, general ward environments, telecare and chronic disease monitoring, as well as care home settings.
The trials at St Mary's Hospital, led by Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Dr Stephen Brett, are being conducted in three phases; the initial phase with non-patient volunteers followed by two patient study groups: patients recovering from surgery, and patients with specific medical conditions in the general wards. Initial results are expected by end-December 2009.
Dr Stephen Brett, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at Imperial College London, commented:
"This technology has the potential to improve the capturing of patient's vital signs within all areas of the hospital - enabling key physiological data to be acquired at an increased frequency, with the minimum of inconvenience to patients, and without the requirement to connect patients to immobile pieces of equipment. This raises the possibility of technology improving hospital safety systems enhancing the efficiency of adding vital sign data to patient records and potentially freeing valuable nursing staff time for other patient care responsibilities."
Professor Chris Toumazou, chief executive officer of Toumaz Holdings, commented:
"It is fantastic to see the Sensium(TM) technology coming to fruition, and for us to be launching this study at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. This is a key stage in our commercial journey and one that opens the door to some very exciting applications of our technology in clinical environments next year.
"The business case is simple: by using the disposable digital plaster to monitor on a 24-7 basis, critical medical information can be monitored that would not otherwise have been detected. This preventative form of medicine will mean that less people could require intensive care in the future, saving lives and at the same time providing greater efficiencies and cost savings to the NHS. Once proven in a hospital setting then the digital plaster can be deployed in the home in the same way."
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For Further Enquiries:
Patrick Stephansen Toumaz Holdings Limited Tel: +44 (0) 207 355 0036 Charles Cunningham FinnCap Tel: +44 (0) 207 600 1658 John Bick Hansard Group Tel: +44 (0) 7872 061007 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7245 1100 About Sensium(TM)
Toumaz Technology Limited's Sensium(TM) technology platform enables the non-intrusive acquisition of real-time, continuous physiological data for a wide range of health and lifestyle management applications, including remote healthcare, wellness and wireless monitoring at the bedside.
Sensium(TM) provides an open platform to develop revolutionary wireless devices that can continuously monitor multiple vital signs in real-time, and feed back high-quality information to health professionals via PCs, PDAs and smart phones.
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