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By HospiMedica International staff writers Posted on 16 Feb 2021
A hospital system will enable real-time fetal and maternal heart rate monitoring and analysis of pregnant COVID-19 patients by midwives and obstetricians, limiting the amount of physical interaction to potentially reduce the risk of coronavirus exposure and spread.
Sheba Medical Center (Tel Aviv, Israel) has initiated a pilot to test both the HeraBEAT fetal heart rate monitor and the HeraCARE digital pregnancy monitoring platform from HeraMED Ltd. (Netanya, Israel). Additionally, Sheba will also test the PulseNmore ES ultrasound system from PulseNmore Ltd. (Omer, Israel) that docks with the patient’s mobile phone to deliver high quality images which can be viewed live by the hospital physicians via a secure telemedicine platform.
Sheba will use the HeraBEAT smart pregnancy monitor in operational mode to enable telehealth-based services in the hospital’s dedicated pregnancy COVID-19 unit. Pregnant women who are admitted to the hospital’s COVID-19 unit require continuous monitoring. The HeraBEAT monitor will enable real-time fetal and maternal heart rate monitoring and analysis by Sheba’s midwives and obstetricians, limiting the amount of physical interaction to potentially reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread. Alongside HeraBEAT, Sheba will use the HeraCARE digital pregnancy monitoring platform that offers a set of connected, digital health tools optimized to provide comprehensive pregnancy health trend base analysis. HeraCARE will enable pregnancy management through simple to follow daily tasks that optimize user adherence, and integrated reminders and incentives.
Sheba will also provide its pregnant COVID-19 patients with the PulseNmore ES ultrasound system that is intended for remote scan of fetal heartbeats, movements and assessment of amniotic fluid from 14-weeks of gestation onward. Its handheld design will enable the patients to perform ultrasound by themselves, thereby limiting the need for visits by physicians and nursing staff. PulseNmore ES ultrasound system docks with the patient’s mobile phone to deliver high quality images that can be viewed live by the hospital physicians via a secure telemedicine platform. An intuitive app guides the user through every step of the scanning and connection process. Sophisticated image filtering software (image enhancement, speckle reduction and Time Gain Control) also enhances the image quality. The physician can see the performed scan in real-time and talk to the end-user. GAIN, DEPTH and FOCUS settings can be adjusted during the communication for optimized image quality.
“Our goal in the pilot starting in the antepartum COVID-19 unit is to enable the highest standard of maternal care and fetal monitoring while reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread,” said Dr. Avi Tsur, M.D., Director of the Sheba Women’s Health Innovation Centre. “In the next steps, our mission will be to leverage these cutting-edge technologies to provide our pregnant patients with premium Maternal-Fetal remote care wherever they are, at home or at work.”
