Manipal Hospitals, one of the biggest healthcare providers in India, has entered into a partnership with Singapore-based health tech provider ConnectedLife to remotely monitor patients' conditions after surgeries.

ConnectedLife's solutions combine sensor technology and AI to facilitate early detection and intervention of common chronic diseases, as well as enable the continuous monitoring and personalised treatment of people living with chronic conditions.

Its virtual platform, based on a press statement, pairs with wearable devices like Fitbit to remotely capture heart rate, oxygen saturation level, and activity metrics like sleep quality, steps, and pain score. It delivers reminders for taking medications and participating in physiotherapy and triggers warnings when there have been irregularities in vital parameters.

WHY IT MATTERS

Through their partnership with ConnectedLife, Manipal Hospitals Chairman Dr Sudarshan Ballal expects post-surgery care will become "seamless," as wearable technology will help them monitor critical parameters of patients who have undergone high-risk surgeries, such as total knee replacement surgery, angioplasty, and cardiac bypass surgery.

Its latest programme will provide clinicians with a holistic view of patients' health post-discharge to monitor their progress toward recovery and help create tailored interventions. Patients will also be empowered to manage their own wellbeing by having a better view of their health metrics.

According to CEO Dr Dilip Jose, using ConnectedLife's platform will "replace lengthy manual processes with 24/7 insight-based care and monitoring, enabling recovery outside of hospitals". 

So far, Manipal has seen "improved" adherence to medication and exercise schedules, as well as progress in the physical activities of patients enrolled in the programme.

Moreover, post-operative data will be collected from ConnectedLife through Fitbit to see if they match with functional outcomes and improved patient satisfaction post-surgery. "This data will allow us to understand and develop new methods in cost-effectiveness, compliance, comfort, and ease of use," said Dr Jose.

THE LARGER TREND

New remote health monitoring devices have recently sprung up in India. Last year, the Amrita Spandanam, a smartphone-connected finger clip for health monitoring, was deployed at the Amrita Hospital to monitor patients with severe COVID-19. Earlier in the month, the technology was launched for home use. 

Medtronic India has partnered with Statis Health to help commercialise in India the Statis Monitor, a bedside monitoring system that also enables virtual tracking of patients' vitals from any device. The connected care system provides 24-hour vital sign trend data and uses predictive AI to alert staff about patients' deteriorating conditions. 

In other related news, Fitbit launched in August last year its newest Fitbit Charge 5 which features a stress management capability. A new premium Fitbit feature that analyses a user's snoring activity while asleep recently came to the Sense and Versa 3 devices.

ON THE RECORD

"We continue to work with ConnectedLife to facilitate engagement with strategic partners like Manipal Hospitals to develop and implement solutions that play a key role in building the digital health ecosystem in India. This programme gives people a better view of their health metrics, which can help empower them to better manage their recovery," Fitbit India Country Manager Alok Shankar commented.

"For ConnectedLife this is an incredible opportunity to deliver at scale and further advance the application of easy-to-use smartphone and wearable technology, and novel data analytics and AI, and population health management tools," ConnectedLife founder and CEO Daryl Arnold also said.