Physical activity monitor to aid in surgical recovery

The generated data will help orthopaedic surgeons and GPs provide the best care possible for an individual by monitoring the activity levels of hip and knee replacement patient's for several months; both before and after surgery. The company says the system has the potential to save the NHS millions of pounds each year through improved clinical decision making. The insight into a patient's physical activity and pain trends will give primary and secondary medical care experts an objective understanding of how active a patient is, which will help facilitate more informed decision treatment options, individual patient exercise regimes and recovery predictions. Activ4Life chief executive, Ian Revie, said: "Activ4Life's cutting edge ProV3.8 brings an additional dimension to the joint surgery care pathway. The visibility of patient activity and pain trends over time will help inform the patient, GP and surgeon of the optimal time for surgery. Moreover, potential problems in rehabilitation can be identified early and acted on." The small and lightweight activity monitor is worn by a patient throughout the day under their clothes and at night it is simply placed into a small docking station where the patient is asked to record, on a level of 1 to 10, any pain they have experienced that day. Once in the docking station the data is automatically transmitted to the Activ4Life server via an existing mobile phone network, it is analysed against a persona, a researched activity profile assigned based on the patient's age, gender, BMI, operative state and activity levels. Regular reports are then generated to clinicians to assist them in the decision making process; information which can be accessed at any time from a secure website. Patients also receive the data and have the choice of receiving it by post or email. Clinical trials in two UK hospitals are currently being undertaken.