Toumaz Starts US Hospital Pilot of Wireless Vital Signs Monitoring System, Achieving Major Milestone

ABINGDON, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toumaz Limited (AIM: TMZ, ‘Toumaz’, or ‘the Group’), a UK-based pioneer in low cost, ultra-low power wireless technology, has started the pilot of its digital vital signs monitor, SensiumVitals, at St. John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, California; a major US hospital.

“This disruptive wireless monitoring technology is the world’s first FDA cleared and fully disposable vital signs monitoring solution for general use in hospitals. SensiumVitals represents a breakthrough in how patient care is delivered, setting a new, cost effective standard for hospitals and also benefitting patients’ recovery.”

The SensiumVitals monitor is a disposable, ultra-thin plaster which continuously monitors the patient’s heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature whilst in hospital. The monitor significantly increased patient surveillance compared to current practice, which involves manual measurement of vital signs every six to eight hours.

SensiumVitals is intended for use in general hospital wards which account for the vast majority of hospital beds, as opposed to traditional monitoring devices which can be bulky, wired products and may be restricted to intensive care units. The device, which also has an alert capability, enables patients to be fully mobile whilst being monitored.

Any deterioration in condition can be detected by the SensiumVitals monitor and dealt with immediately, thereby reducing the number of patients admitted or readmitted to intensive care and the overall hospital spend.

In the US alone, wireless vital signs monitoring devices are forecast to reduce healthcare costs by around $200 billion over the next 25 years (Center for Technology and Aging Report, May 2010).

The pilot is being carried out at St. John’s Health Centre in Santa Monica, California, by Toumaz US, the Group’s US joint venture with Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong’s company NantWorks.

Anthony Sethill, CEO of Toumaz, commented:

“This pilot is a major milestone for the Group as we start to commercialise our low cost, ultra-low power wireless technologies for use in the medical markets.

“This disruptive wireless monitoring technology is the world’s first FDA cleared and fully disposable vital signs monitoring solution for general use in hospitals. SensiumVitals represents a breakthrough in how patient care is delivered, setting a new, cost effective standard for hospitals and also benefitting patients’ recovery.

“Early feedback from patients and hospital staff at St John’s has been very positive with the device detecting deterioration in patients’ conditions instantaneously, enabling intervention much sooner than normal.”

Michael Trevino, CTO of NantHealth, a NantWorks company, commented:

"At NantWorks, we believe continuous patient monitoring in the hospital will one day be standard practice and this will be enabled by foundational technology like SensiumVitals, delivered by Toumaz US. Continuously streamed patient data automatically flowing into hospital information systems will drive the right care at the right time and in the right place."

About SensiumVitals

The SensiumVitals digital plaster is a fully disposable device, with smart sensor interface and transceiver, aimed at the general wards of hospitals. The device continuously monitors patients’ vital signs (heart-rate, respiration rate & temperature) and wirelessly communicates this data to doctors and nurses via the hospital’s IT system.

Currently, the majority of patients in hospital have measurements of vital signs taken manually at six to eight hour intervals. This relatively infrequent monitoring means that deterioration in patient conditions may go unnoticed, leading to further treatment or re-admittance to intensive care units.

The SensiumVitals monitor is a disposable ultra-thin plaster that is attached to patients under their clothing. The device enables the patient to be completely ambulatory and still be monitored.

Hospital staff can set up alerts that can be sent to pagers/handheld devices to warn them of patient deterioration. This enables caregivers to prioritise patients based on their condition. SensiumVitals has a battery life of five days, covering the average length of a general ward stay in the hospital. At the end of a patient’s stay the entire device can be disposed of.

Key benefits include:

• Enables early detection of deterioration – patients at risk can be treated sooner / improves patient safety
• Lightweight unobtrusive wireless plaster is comfortable to wear and enables patients to be ambulatory – improves patient recovery
• Plasters can be disposed of after use – no risk of infection transmission from one patient to another
• Integrates well with existing clinical workflows and will be useful for generating patient early warning scores

About Toumaz - (www.toumazltd.com)

Toumaz is a pioneer in low cost, ultra-low power wireless technologies for a wide range of markets including medical monitoring and internet connected consumer devices. The recent acquisition of Frontier Silicon brings operational scale and expertise together with a leadership position in digital and networked audio markets.

The Group combines its strong IP and technology base with the commercial scale of Frontier to exploit two key wireless technology sectors:

• Professional healthcare solutions
• Consumer semiconductors in digital audio and sport & health markets

Toumaz’s ultra-low power sensor platform, Sensium™, targets the professional healthcare market and is a leader in real-time wireless monitoring of the body’s vital signs with the potential to transform medical monitoring and reduce the cost of healthcare. SensiumVitals is the Group’s first product in this field. For healthcare professionals, this creates new opportunities for pro-active monitoring and improved quality of care. For patients, it delivers new opportunities for personalised healthcare.

Toumaz plans to transfer its Sensium™ technology to the consumer sports and health market, where its advanced measurement algorithms and low energy solutions give it a competitive advantage.

Toumaz is also using its expertise to design devices for wireless connectivity and internet-connected The acquisition of Frontier Silicon has enhanced the Group’s technology portfolio in Network Audio and elevates Toumaz to a market leadership position in this and the digital radio markets. The Group now supplies multimedia/FM/DAB chips and modules to all major audio brands.

Toumaz is an AIM listed company (AIM: TMZ) with development centres in Oxford and Cambridge in the UK and in Hong Kong and in Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China.