Umana Medical is the name that delivers innovative medical solutions to monitor vital signs in the least invasive way. As stated their mission statement, Umana develops effective technological innovations that address the needs of both the patients and the medical professionals.
The company is based in Malta and is introducing the revolutionary T1 Heart Monitor as its flagship product. This is an unobtrusive remote monitoring system that gathers vital data through our skin sensor called Smarter Skin. This Heart Monitor, through the Smarter Skin sensor (very similar to a temporary tattoo), delivers real-time and continuous data measurement and analysis of a number of heart-related activities.
The T1 was launched and displayed for the first time in public during the HIMSS conference in Barcelona in May 2018 and an overwhelming amount of support was very evident. The product is currently being used for investigational purposes on patient trials. The company will start shipment to its partners and pre-orders once CE certification is finalized very shortly.
This Heart Monitor is being launched through Umana’s partners in Portugal, UK, Italy, Malta and Turkey. Further market entry in EU, Middle East and Asia will come about in the coming months based on ongoing discussions.
An innovative Smarter Skin
The Smarter Skin and T1 monitor can be easily applied by both patients themselves and by medical professionals when the device is to be used in Holter Mode. In this case, the patients wear the device for the day while going about their usual daily activities and return to the medical professional who will extract the data from the monitor, reset it and apply it onto the next patient.
One has to point out that Smarter Skin uses a specially developed “easy application system”, which enables the release of nanomaterial directly on the skin, through an adhesive like applicator.
This “second skin” is to be applied above the left breast, for both males and females. Women can also wear it under the left breast if the signal is better.
Smarter Skin can be worn for up to 5 days if it is not subjected to harsh treatment, such as scrubbing while showering. The protective film helps to make the Smarter Skin waterproof and last longer.
Recording data in real-time
The monitor itself is a small lightweight device with a front enclosure that is flexible, to be more comfortable for the user. It weighs less than 17g, and has a thickness of less than 0.8mm. At the moment we are using Bluetooth connection with the amplifier, but we are also testing 4G and NFC as a future technology.
The Umana T1 gathers ECG activity to provide Heart Rate, Long-term Heart Rate, ECG-derived Respiratory Rate, and constant Systolic Blood pressure. Abnormalities in ECG like (but not only) Atrial Fibrillation are detected by the T1, and it can optionally inform both patient and a chosen contact person through sms or email. The monitor also measures Physical Activity enabling Fall Detection and real time notifications.
A patient using the device in Monitoring Mode can select or suggest a medical professional to receive their data either through the app during registration or from the online User Control Center. Medical Professionals can apply to be registered in Umana’s database through the online Medical Professional Control Center and they are vetted and approved by Umana scientific personnel before being given access to the Control Center.
The physician can monitor their patients’ processed data in real-time while it is uploaded from the app if the patient has constant internet connection, or can view all the monitoring session data at any desired time. All connected patients’ sessions are available for viewing on the control center.
When the device is used in Holter Mode, the physician or hospital technician applies the device to the patient and selects the medical professional who will receive the data once it is retrieved from the monitor, once the patient returns after the monitoring period. The physician can then access the data on the Medical Professional Control Center.
While in Monitoring Mode the data is being processed and analysed in real-time to extract physiological data and detect abnormalities, data gathered in Holter Mode is raw ECG data.
To make life even easier for hospitals and nursing homes the company developed the Umana T1 Hub system, that allows nursing homes to monitor up to 300 patients in real time, from 1 tablet. The system makes it very easy for the nurse on duty to monitor all patients at a distance, and if there is an abnormality or a patient falls, Smarter Skin would automatically detect and mark on the T1 hub interface. Then, the system will send a text message to a pre-defined mobile number.
The Biosignals Studio
Apart from this, the company developed the Umana Biosignals Studio – our ground breaking “Artificial Intelligence Enabled” clinical software. This platform signals abnormality detection automatically. It also generates reports in accordance to HL7, while enabling doctors and technicians to add notes to sections of the ECG or other vital parameters recorded.
All these technical details and specifications make T1 absolutely revolutionary in various ways.
Umana is committed to streamline care delivery, reduce time spent in diagnosis and improve patients’ access to the right therapies.
For more information you can visit their website www.umanamedical.com or join their social community on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
