Team: Tanay Nandgaonkar, Tra Tran, Victor Tieu
Client: Dr. Arash Afshinnik , Director of Neuro-critical Care at UCSF Fresno
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Neurologic Surgery, Division of Neurology, UC San Francisco Fresno
Problem: Tangling and detachment of wires connecting various devices and adapters to a portable attachment for the central monitor in the patient unit are cumbersome.
Needs Statement: A method to increase freedom-of-movement in neurological ICU patients in rehabilitation or approaching step-down in order to improve ICU discharge times.
Purpose:
Vital sign monitoring is a crucial aspect of critical patient care in the hospital intensive care unit (ICU). Unfortunately, uninterrupted vital sign monitoring remains a major challenge in critical patient care using the current standard-of-care devices and physical setup. Detachment of devices by patient grabbing and pulling—often during periods of delirium or agitation—may compel healthcare providers to use physical and chemical restraints that can increase the risk of harm and injury or, in the case of sedation, reduce responsiveness to stimuli that can be indicative of underlying neurological problems. This especially impacts patients in the neurological ICU who are undergoing rehabilitation or approaching step-down: the basic procedure in evaluating these patients is to tell the patient to get up from their bed and sit down on a chair by their side. The combination of EKG, pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuffs, IV tubings, power cords, temperature probes, and sometimes urinary catheters makes it extremely difficult for the patient move about.
Population: Neurological ICU patients.
Outcome: Increase freedom-of-movement in neurological ICU patients in rehabilitation, or approaching step-down, in order to improve ICU discharge times.