Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) today announced that Saint-Denis Hospital Center is adopting the use of the Masimo SafetyNet® cloud-based telemonitoring platform as part of an experimental mobile neonatology unit aimed at facilitating earlier discharge of premature newborns from the ICU to the home. Launched in February, this pioneering project allows vulnerable neonates to return home safely to their families while remaining under the close supervision of the hospital.
Masimo SafetyNet offers a streamlined approach to remote patient management that can be scaled and tailored to each patient’s unique care needs, offering wireless continuous monitoring and spot-check devices, customizable CarePrograms™ with symptom reporting, and a secure in-hospital clinical portal that allows care teams to keep watch over a large volume of patients. Following discharge, families are sent home with an easy-to-use pulse oximetry sensor, Radius PPG®, powered by clinically proven Masimo Signal Extraction Technology® (SET®), and an intuitive smartphone application. The sensor, worn on the foot of neonatal patients, includes a chip that sends health data to the app, where parents can keep an eye on their baby’s condition and communicate with caregivers. From the hospital, caregivers receive that same data as well as notification logs about changes in a patient’s condition—enabling them to prioritize those who may need care escalation.
Staff members at Saint Denis were already familiar with the benefits of home-based care. Dr. Pascal Bolot, head of neonatal intensive care at Saint-Denis, first implemented home visits in partnership with the ARS, a regional health authority, to address the lack of care following hospital discharge and alleviate the distress of the abrupt shift from hospital to home for families. Saint-Denis’ experience providing home visits was a key advantage when it came to implementing remote neonatal monitoring, alongside 11 other French facilities taking part in the trial. With the integration of Masimo SafetyNet, the pilot has expanded its approach to be more comprehensive and innovative – an approach that, according to Dr. Alizée Lori, the pediatrician at Saint-Denis who oversees the mobile unit, “[brings] premature newborns into a secure home environment equivalent to hospital-grade monitoring quality.” The addition of this technology serves as an opportunity to “put the premature newborn back in the center of the family,” added Dr. Bolot.
The mobile neonatology unit benefits caregivers and families alike. As a general rule, neonatology services do not allow premature babies to return home before the end of 36 weeks of corrected age. Masimo SafetyNet may help make it possible to secure an earlier return home, serving as a relay between hospital staff and families and providing comprehensive support for premature babies in their first few weeks of life. The success of this program could lead to the deployment of Masimo SafetyNet in other care areas, particularly in pediatric care, including home patient management of various conditions.
Dr. Lori commented, “We chose this Masimo solution because of its innovative nature and the practical aspect of wireless physiological data monitoring; it’s easy for families to use and gives our medical team easy access to patients’ health data from the hospital. Since Masimo is used in many neonatology departments, including CH Delafontaine, we were confident in the reliability of the data recorded. This solution allows us to adapt care protocols to meet the needs of our vulnerable patients. Additionally, the Masimo team has supported us since the beginning of the project, and is still available on a daily basis.”
The Saint-Denis Hospital Center, made up of the Delafontaine and Casanova sites, is the only public healthcare facility in the Plaine Commune area, serving a population of 435,000 people. The facility offers 839 hospital beds with adult, pediatric and gynecological emergency services, a large consultation platform, and a type 3 perinatal center for monitoring high-risk pregnancies through high-quality maternal and neonatal care for mothers and children.
Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, said, “Our mission from the beginning has been to improve patient outcomes and reduce cost of care by taking noninvasive monitoring to new sites and applications. And it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come. To see parents be able to be with their newborn baby and each other is extremely gratifying, and to help the dedicated team at Saint-Denis provide earlier discharge yet keep the same level of monitoring is something we’re all proud of. Masimo has long fought to protect vulnerable newborns through innovative continuous monitoring, and it is truly rewarding to see how Masimo SafetyNet—using the same technology we’ve developed and perfected over 35 years—is helping Saint-Denis extend comprehensive care to neonatal patients at home. As healthcare becomes more predictive, preventative, and personalized than ever before, we are committed to innovating solutions that put patients at the center of the care ecosystem.”
