Death knell for contact sensor monitoring of vital signs?

Steve Hards

We may have just hit a Black Swan [Amazon link] moment for the existing telehealth industry. That is, you never know when a development is going to sweep away the current paradigm and with it your profit-base: FTSE 250-listed company IP Group is to invest up to £500,000 in Oxehealth, which has been spun out from Oxford University’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Oxehealth has created software that can be used with a webcam to track patients’ pulse, breathing rate, and oxygen saturation without the need for any other hardware. Professor Tarassenko, Director of the Institute, said: “Our research has transformed the ubiquitous webcam into a non-contact sensor for monitoring the most important vital signs…We believe that our webcam software offers a step change in the way that the health of individuals can be assessed in the home or the hospital.” IP Group pumps £500,000 into health webcam spin-out. (The Telegraph) Oxehealth’s press release. Heads-up thanks to Olivia Eyers, 3ML Project Manager.