The BioBeat Wearable System: Making Medical Monitoring Smarter

Healthcare is essential, but your doctor can’t be with you and monitoring you at all times. That’s where products like BioBeat come in. With BioBeat, there’s continuous monitoring of important information, providing early warning signs of potential health issues.

What Is BioBeat?

BioBeat is a wearable health device that is available in either a wrist version or a chest version. The chest device is meant to be used by a single patient and is disposable. It’s usually used for a short period and has a battery life of around six days.

The wrist monitor is designed for long-term use and can be recharged and used repeatedly for years. When disconnected from the cloud or app, it will continue to monitor vitals and store the information until it can sync again.

The devices monitor a range of vital statistics and track them. These include:

• Pulse Rate
• Pulse Pressure
• Continuous Blood Pressure
• Blood Saturation
• Respiratory Rate
• Systemic Vascular Resistance
• Heart Rate Variability
• Mean Arterial Pressure
• Skin Temperature
• Cardiac Output
• Cardiac Index
• ECG
• Stroke Volume

All of this information is monitored in real-time and wirelessly, making it simple to keep track of vital signs without the discomfort of being connected to multiple machines. The BioBeat app allows patients to connect with their monitor to keep an eye on their information and allows doctors to remotely track vitals. Since the entire system is cloud-based, it can be accessed from anywhere and provides a history of the previous statistics and an alert system that doctors can set to go off at specific levels.

Who Can Benefit From BioBeat

There are two main ways to use BioBeat, at home and in the hospital. Anyone at risk for an issue that can be detected through the 13 vital signs monitored by BioBeat will benefit from its use.

In a hospital, the device allows patients to be monitored without bulky, limiting machinery. The information is synched to the EMR system in the hospital, with alerts if something is wrong. This means hospital staff can monitor multiple patients while reducing the amount of machinery needed. It also reduces the amount of time medical staff spends inputting vital signs and data to the EMR system, as it’s all synced automatically. This saves time and money.

BioBeat is also helpful when a patient leaves the hospital but is still at risk for potential problems. The device allows a doctor to monitor the user from afar and an alert will let the patient and the healthcare provider know if a visit is necessary. It saves quite a bit of time and money by simply reducing the need for re-admissions to the hospital. The patient can see that their vitals are fine on the app and the doctor can reassure them or adjust their treatment remotely.

In cases where the patient suffers from a health issue, the device will alert in time for an intervention. It has a much higher chance of saving a person’s life due to this and can also detect previously unknown health issues. It’s often necessary to observe the patient in their daily routine to catch these problems, and the app and device do just that.

Pros and Cons of the BioBeat Wearable

It’s already evident that there are quite a few benefits to using the BioBeat wearable device, but there are some downsides, as well, as you might expect.

First, let’s take a look at the pros:

• Wireless connectivity
• Customizable alert thresholds for each vital sign
• Cloud-based for easy access
• FDA approved
• Two options for wearables
• Non-invasive monitoring of vitals

Now, what are the downsides to using BioBeat? Here are a few cons:

• It’s pricy, around $1,500 for the wrist version
• The design for the chest monitor is slightly unwieldy

There aren’t many downsides to the device, but it is certainly high priced. This price makes sense, however, when you consider that it is often used in a professional healthcare setting.

What People Are Saying About BioBeat

While it’s a good idea to look for reviews on anything you are interested in using, it’s hard to find many for the BioBeat wearable device. However, the app does have a 5-star rating, even though there are no comments.

Alternatives to BioBeat

Vital monitoring systems are not new. However, the vast majority, such as the Holter device, are awkward to use and can be quite uncomfortable. They also don’t monitor in real-time but collect the information for perusal at a later date.

VitalsPlus is one option that is quite similar to BioBeats. The company offers this simple device to detect CO2 levels, among other vitals. They also provide an early warning system that can alert healthcare professionals to a deteriorating patient.

Another useful app, though decidedly simpler than BioBeat, is Vital Tracer. This wristband monitor only covers a handful of vital signs, making it considerably less useful. This device provides real-time tracking with cloud storage and also uses an app. It can alert doctors or patients of anything unusual.

Finally, patients may use the BiPS device, which was originally designed to prevent delayed responses in a hospital setting. The complex device requires a wrist monitor connected to devices on two fingers for more accurate results. However, it only monitors blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and heart rate.

Each of these devices is meant to help patients be more independent while still maintaining their monitoring. Technology has come a long way to allow the removal of the cumbersome machines that were once necessary.

Conclusion

Wearable tech is certainly growing and progressing. Now doctors can monitor their patients who have been sent home just in case something goes wrong. They can also pick up on health issues that may not appear in the hospital but show up with continuous monitoring under regular activities. With these advances, we can expect to see some pretty drastic changes in how medical professionals manage their patients and their health.