Wearable Ultrasound Device Helps Hospital Reduce Sepsis Mortality, Length of Stay, and Cost

Sepsis is a critical medical emergency that occurs when the body's response to an infection causes damage to vital organs, potentially leading to long-term complications and often resulting in death. Each year, over 1.7 million people in the United States are diagnosed with sepsis, and 350,000 of these adults die—surpassing the combined death toll from opioids, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and stroke. Estimates suggest that up to 79% of patients experiencing septic shock can be saved through prompt diagnosis and treatment, highlighting the importance of awareness and timely recognition of sepsis signs and symptoms. Recently, a newly released case study has detailed how a large public hospital utilized the world's first Doppler ultrasound to enhance the care of patients with sepsis and septic shock.

FloPatch, developed by Flosonics Medical (Ontario, Canada), is the world's first wireless, wearable Doppler ultrasound device that allows for real-time blood-flow assessments at the point of care, aiding in the resuscitation of critically ill patients, including those suffering from sepsis and septic shock. This FDA-approved, hands-free device attaches to a patient's neck over the carotid artery, capturing real-time blood flow data with each heartbeat. Advanced analytics decompose each heartbeat into essential health metrics, which are wirelessly sent to a secure iOS application. Intravenous (IV) fluid resuscitation is a crucial component in treating sepsis. However, determining the appropriate volume of fluid to administer is one of the most complex and error-prone interventions in critical care. Capable of being deployed in under three minutes, FloPatch provides rapid, continuous hemodynamic assessments, enabling greater precision in IV fluid management and allowing for informed, timely decisions at the patient's bedside.

Flosonics has published a case study highlighting a successful initiative by a 439-bed publicly funded nonprofit hospital in the U.S. to reduce sepsis mortality. In 2023, the hospital implemented FloPatch to assist clinicians at the bedside in accurately determining the appropriate amount of IV fluids for patients. Following the incorporation of FloPatch into a broader sepsis improvement program, the hospital observed substantial enhancements in the care of patients with sepsis and septic shock, including a dramatic reduction in mortality rates—from 30% to 5%—among patients who met the criteria for sepsis or septic shock. Additionally, the hospital experienced a 35% decrease in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions for sepsis patients and a two-day reduction in ICU length of stay.

"It can provide real-time data and can be used as another vital sign that is a more accurate reflection of adequacy of fluid resuscitation than heart rate or blood pressure alone. I believe it will make a big difference,” said Kristina Kury, M.D., Medical Director of Critical Care at Sutter's Eden Medical Center, which has also implemented FloPatch. “Even if we're able to reduce sepsis mortality by just a few percentage points throughout Sutter Health, that could potentially be thousands of lives saved. If this technology is embraced by other health care systems, it could have an enormous impact on sepsis mortality across the nation."

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