New Philips gadget helps monitor COPD patients

Philips is no stranger to the healthcare industry, and with a new sensor, it’s looking to further dive into medical wearables for real-world use. The company developed a gadget for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) sufferers that’s worn inside a disposable adhesive patch, continuously gathering diagnostic stats like heart rate, respiratory function and physical activity.

There are many wearable health-trackers on the market, but few manage to bridge the divide between personal and professional use. Philips today announced the release of a new wearable diagnostic device for chronically ill patients that promises to do just that. Co-developed with Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, the new sensor from Philips is a patch that sticks to a patient’s chest, capturing continuous data from people suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to Philips, physical activity and inactivity, respiratory function, heart rhythm, and heart rate variability are all monitored. The data is recorded by the sensor, transmitted to the user’s mobile device, and then uploaded to a cloud-based healthcare data management hub co-developed with Salesforce.