Body-monitor plaster

Toumaz Technology, the Abingdon-based provider of wireless monitoring systems, has today begun clinical trials of its ‘digital plaster’ wireless body-monitoring device at St Mary’s Hospital in London.

The disposable wireless plaster has been designed to be worn by a patient for a maximum of three days.

During that time the company claims it provides continuous monitoring of vital signs, including temperature, heart rate and respiration.

The system is based on the company’s Advanced Mixed Signal (AMx) semiconductor IP platform and works using the group’s existing Sensium wireless technology.

Once the information is collected on the internal chip it is sent to a base station where it can be downloaded for analysis.

Initial results from the trials are expected by the end of December 2009 and the group hopes these will reveal an accurate collection of physiological data to match those currently achieved by ‘gold-standard’ monitors.