Day: December 16, 2005

Last year I was introduced to Hoana at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses in Orlando. Scott Christensen explained their innovative sensing technology - aiming to improve patient safety and reduce failures to rescue, Hoana has developed sensor technology that allows them to monitor patient vital signs through the mattress of the patient's bed. The Hoana system is based on a sensor pad, the system measures heart and respiratory rate and notes when the patient gets out of bed. Called the Star Trek sickbay by some, this futuristic system could be deployed in every patient bed to provide continuous monitoring in order to detect when a patient's condition deteriorates to facilitate earlier (and more effective) clinical interventions. In a press release today, they announce closing their latest round of funding: Medical device maker Hoana Medical closes $10.2M, in an over-subscribed Series C round led by Global Venture Capital (GVC) of Tokyo and other institutional and private investors. Funds raised will support sales and marketing of Hoana's first product, LG1(TM) Intelligent Medical Vigilance System(TM), designed specifically for the medical-surgical areas of the hospital (also referred to as the general care floor). The LG1 (1) improves patient safety by providing persistent measurement of vital signs and detecting “bed exit,” without touching the patient — a major innovation in patient care, and (2) improves hospital economics by augmenting patient vigilance of...