Group Receives $2M to Research Wireless Patient Monitoring

WARP provides a ready, accessible network for untethered, frequent remote monitoring of patients with heart failure and diabetes, both chronic conditions that can be managed much more effectively on a day-to-day basis, rather than relying on monthly physician office visits. Every morning, patients can step on a Blue Scale, a sensing device that looks like a regular bathroom scale, and the scale will automatically and securely transmit all necessary cardiac output data to the patient’s physician, alerting him or her to any small changes that can be easily managed. This prevents small problems from turning into larger health issues over time, and it is done in an environment that is easy for the patient.

"Many chronic diseases should be treated on a daily, or even hourly, manner," said Dacso. "Living with diabetes or heart failure can be much easier and safer if it’s treated with constant, small lifestyle adjustments. Teaming the WARP system with remote patient monitoring devices like Blue Scale provides patients with a way to do just this."

The new project will use CMC's WARP infrastructure on a high-speed wireless network in Pecan Park that is operated by Houston nonprofit Technology For All. Using this network, the team will design next-generation mobile devices for healthcare and other applications that send and receive data far faster than today's best smart phones.