Can have an impact on patients with schizophrenia in Denmark and internationally – Sensor is now being tested in forensic psychiatry in Region Zealand
A new project in Lighthouse Life Science has the potential to help psychiatric patients all over the world. A small sensor will monitor patients and alert if side effects occur after medication while they are at home. The goal is to be able to help more patients with the right medication. The collaboration across the public and private sectors has been crucial to the project.
If you were a patient, would you prefer to sit in the hospital and be monitored for possible side effects for three hours, or sit at home with a small patch on your arm that provides the same security?
Forensic psychiatry in Region Zealand is currently testing a new solution that can increase the safety of patients via remote monitoring. In the project ‘Digital depot monitoring’, a solution is being tested with a rechargeable sensor inserted into a patch. The sensor will monitor the patient’s vital signs to ensure that he or she does not become ill from his or her medication. Previously, the patient had to stay in the hospital for three hours after taking the medicine. But with the small device, the patient can receive an injection at home, while the healthcare staff can keep an eye on whether he or she experiences side effects in the following three hours.
“If we achieve the results we expect, we are on the verge of a breakthrough for psychiatry. This solution gives us completely new opportunities to offer treatment at home. Therefore, the results of the project may have an impact on patients throughout Denmark and also other countries, says Per Balling, Chief Medical Officer, Psychiatry in Region Zealand.
The goal is for more people to receive medication
The new technology is intended to increase the safety of patients treated with Zypadhera®, a drug used to treat schizophrenia. The use of Zypadhera may, in a few patients, carry a risk of serious side effects immediately after ingestion. Therefore, patients should be monitored closely for three hours after treatment.
According to Per Balling, more patients can benefit from Zypadhera, but many choose not to, among other things, because the monitoring is so time-consuming. Therefore, the goal of the sensor patch is to make the three-hour monitoring more flexible, so more patients can accept the treatment. The sensor technology has been developed by the Danish company IMP Scandinavia.
The need for a better solution in psychiatry
The project is supported by Lighthouse Life Science, a project by Danish Life Science Cluster, and is a collaboration between Health Innovation Region Zealand, Psychiatry of Region Zealand and IMP Scandinavia. The collaboration examines the effect of the solution on patients, workflows and resource consumption.
Chief Medical Officer Per Balling and the Department of Forensic Psychiatry raised the need for a flexible monitoring solution in psychiatry. Through FIERS – Life Science Innovation in Region Zealand, Per Balling was matched with the company IMP Scandinavia, which already had a CE-marked solution for patient monitoring via a sensor patch.
Cooperation with a doctor is crucial
Co-founder in IMP Scandinavia, Jeppe Damgaard Leth, says the collaboration with Per Balling and his colleagues has been educational and positive from the beginning.
“Per Balling and his team are frontrunners in the field of innovation-ready clinicians. From the start, we have been met with great curiosity, respect and a huge amount of adaptability. It is a pleasure to be allowed to develop our solution together with Forensic Psychiatry in Region Zealand, says Jeppe Damgaard Leth.
IMP Scandinavia expects to get a strong business case out of the process, which hopefully can help establish their solution in the market and help more patients.
The project will be evaluated by Health Innovation Region Zealand.
More equality in services for somatic and psychiatric patients
IMP Scandinavia’s first CE-marked solution can monitor the patient’s heart rate and movements. In this project, the company will test their version 2, which can also measure all values in the EWS (Early Warning Score), in addition to the level of awareness. The measurements include heart rate, movement, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation and respiratory rate.
The new solution will now be tested on 50 patients in the Region Zealand.
“The somatic field is further ahead in creating technological solutions that can support patients when they are not at the doctor’s or the hospital. This project can help create more equality in the offers for psychiatry and somatics. Therefore, we look forward to testing a flexible form of monitoring, which can be an important step towards integrating more technology into the homes of psychiatric patients. And hopefully, the solution will result in more patients having access to treatment, says Per Balling.
The project is co-financed by the European Union.
