The University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette is working with Constant Care LLC and Lafayette General Medical Center to assess an integrated software and hardware system that will assist patients with chronic health issues.
Researchers with the University鈥檚 Center for Business and Information Technologies have conducted research and provided advice about software for a patient monitoring system.
The software is called LILAH. The name is an acronym for Living Independent Life at Home.
The software enables patients to:
鈥 conduct 鈥渧ideo chats鈥 with a caregiver or medical professional,
鈥 receive reminders to check their vital signs,
鈥 get notifications to take medication,
鈥 set up an electronic health record; and
鈥 have others monitor their health remotely.
鈥淎s health care providers to the aging population, we identified an opportunity to develop a narrow technology solution that would allow individuals suffering from common chronic illnesses to live independently in their own homes with the assistance of their physician or caregiver,鈥 said Daryl Doise, chief development officer of Constant Care LLC. 鈥淟ILAH is proving to be a cost-effective technology solution when used in partnerships with hospitals, home health providers, skilled nursing facilities, physicians and mid-level practitioners.鈥
Cian Robinson, CBIT鈥檚 director, said the patient monitoring system could be used to 鈥減revent return trips to a medical facility, and alert a caregiver or doctor鈥檚 office that a patient might need to take a prescription or need some other sort of assistance.鈥
CBIT, which provides technology-based economic development in 棉花糖直播, will also give guidance about marketing the software.
Robinson said the monitoring device is based on a need identified by Constant Care LLC, which is LILAH鈥檚 parent company. 鈥淭he project was brought to us by LILAH and Lafayette General Medical Center. People were either going to the facilities who didn鈥檛 need to be there, or who needed monitoring once they left,鈥 he said.
Dr. Ziad Ashkar, chief medical officer at LGMC, said LILAH technology is being used by some patients when they are discharged from the hospital. 鈥淲e are hoping not only to decrease readmissions, but also to save patients鈥 lives, since they are closely monitored. So far, our results look promising.鈥
The monitoring device has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
It helps detect significant changes in a patient鈥檚 vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate and concentration of oxygen in blood. Sensors can trigger alerts that prompt a case manager to check on a patient or contact the patient鈥檚 caregiver. The device is the first product created as a result of the Lafayette Living Lab for Healthcare Innovation.
The 鈥淟iving Lab鈥 is a community-wide initiative established to take advantage of Lafayette鈥檚 position as a hub for fiber optics technology and health care. It鈥檚 spearheaded by CBIT and LGMC.
The effort was launched last summer, based on Lafayette鈥檚 designation as one of 25 communities chosen to participate in a federal effort to foster creation of technology that will benefit the general public in several areas, including health care, according to us-ignite.org. Lafayette is a US Ignite community because of its advanced fiber optic network throughout the city.
The Living Lab and subsequent work on LILAH gained significant traction after last year鈥檚 second annual CajunCodeFest, a 27-hour coding competition organized by CBIT. During the event, teams analyze data, and create digital prototypes that may produce technology related to a predetermined health issue.
CajunCodeFest is intended to spark networking and business development among entrepreneurs and health care professionals.
Hundreds of software programmers and engineers, health care professionals, entrepreneurs, educators and students from other states and countries have attended each of the first two events.
鈥淭his is the type of thing that this community is set up to do, with its fiber optic infrastructure and with LGMC as a major healthcare system. It lets us serve as a 鈥榯est bed鈥 for anyone who wants to come in and try out a news product, service or technology,鈥 Robinson said.