Medical Technologies
Devices and Applications for Biosignal Monitoring
In the Medical Technologies product and service area Bittium offers its customers healthcare technology products and solutions in biosignal measuring in the areas of cardiology, neurology, rehabilitation, occupational health, and sports medicine. Combining healthcare technologies with Bittium´s long-term experience and competence in wireless and security technologies gives Bittium good basis to serve its customers in healthcare sector by offering them new kinds of products and services.
Bittium Faros™ is a versatile waterproof ECG device that is used for early detection of cardiac abnormalities in everyday life. Bittium Faros is ultra-small and lightweight, which enables precise full disclosure ECG measurements for long-term holtering, cardiac event monitoring, mobile cardiac telemetry and assessing autonomic nervous system functions. Bittium Faros outpatient monitoring solutions include several software options for cardiac monitoring. The built-in arrhythmia detection algorithms on the Bittium Faros device are used for event recording and cardiac remote monitoring. Bittium´s solutions enable the earlier discharge of patients and the ability to react to detected arrhythmias faster.
Bittium Cardiac Navigator™ is a completely new type of solution for the analysis of clinical Holter ECG recordings. Its user-friendly and informative data presentation and intuitive analysis tools make the software efficient and easy to use when analyzing multiple days of ECG recordings. Bittium Cardiac Navigator is designed for scanning longer measurements efficiently in a shorter time and thus speeding up the final diagnosis.
Bittium Cardiac Explorer™ offers a quick and flexible way of working with event-based ECG arrhythmia analysis. The biggest benefits of the software are having full disclosure ECG always available, full access to the events identified by the device, total control on the reporting content and the ability to analyze an unlimited amount of measurement data.
Bittium HolterPlus™ is a web based remote cardiac monitoring solution, consisting of a Bittium Faros ECG device and Bittium MedicalSuite™ mobile application integrated into a secure smart device. Bittium HolterPlus enables remote monitoring and earlier discharge of the patient and allows the ECG measurement data of the remotely monitored patient to be wirelessly transferred securely from the monitoring device to the Bittium MedicalSuite remote diagnostics service platform. From the platform the ECG recording can be down-loaded to a cardiologist for diagnosis and the diagnosis will be uploaded for the treating physician for further patient care.
Bittium MedicalSuite™ is an advanced remote monitoring service platform that utilizes wireless data transfer. Bittium MedicalSuite is mainly aimed at service providers to facilitate secure information sharing and workflow management between service providers, clinics, and specialists. Bittium MedicalSuite™ platform allows specialists to perform remote consultations regardless of location. The Service is a combination of intelligent analysis, wireless data transfer, reporting, and management modules that you can optimize according to your needs. The
easy-to-use web user interface allows dashboard customization for different user groups, which ensures effortless workflow and improves efficiency. Currently the system supports cardiac monitoring services, but the same technology can be applied to any biosignal measurements, such as brain monitoring and home sleep apnea testing services.
Bittium BrainStatus™ is a wireless compact EEG amplifier, which is used together with a disposable, easy and quick to wear Bittium BrainStatus electrode headband, for example, to diagnose epileptic seizures and brain stroke. Bittium BrainStatus enables quick measurement in field conditions as well as in hospitals, thus making the treatment process of the patient faster. Bittium BrainStatus can be used for wireless real-time remote EEG monitoring or data can be recorded to the device memory.
Bittium BrainStatus™ with Cerenion C-Trend® is the world´s first practical method for measuring the brain function of intensive care patients. Bittium BrainStatus measures and monitors the electrical activity in the brain, and with the help of Cerenion C-Trend analysis tool, the brain´s state is displayed as a straight-forward and simple-to-interpret numeric value by making use of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Bittium NeurOne™ is one of the quickest and most accurate EEG measuring devices in the world designed for clinical and research use. Bittium NeurOne system enables fully synchronized group measuring of up to 30 persons simultaneously for example in different types of psychological studies. The solution is optimized for use with transcranial magnetic stimulators (TMS-EEG), with optional possibility to use it during magnetic resonance imaging procedures (fMRI-EEG).
Year 2020
Demand for Bittium´s medical technology products for remote monitoring and remote diagnostics remained steady. Based on the delivery agreement signed in 2018, during the first half Bittium continued to deliver tailored Body Guardian® MINI ECG measuring devices to the major US remote monitoring provider Preventice as planned. In September, Bittium and Preventice signed an extension to the agreement, under which Bittium will continue to supply BodyGuardian® MINI devices for the years 2021–2024. When fully implemented, the total value of the agreement will be approximately USD 22.9 million.
In May, Bittium BrainStatus™ product family received medical device approval in Europe (directive 93/42/EEC). Bittium BrainStatus product family is a compact wireless EEG measurement system for the brain´s realtime electrical activity monitoring. It is designed for emergency, acute and intensive care use. Its ease of use enables high-quality EEG measurements by both paramedics and clinicians quickly and easily. At the end of the year, Cerenion´s C-Trend® analysis software, which is integrated in Bittium BrainStatus™ EEG system, was granted medical device approval in the European Union. With Cerenion C-Trend® analysis, the status of the brain is presented as simple and easy-to-interpret numerical values by utilizing advanced machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence. The aim of the solution is to improve medical care and make the work of nursing staff in the intensive care unit easier and faster.
Bittium launched an advanced remote monitoring service platform that utilizes wireless data transfer to enhance medical remote diagnostics services. Bittium MedicalSuite™ web-based service platform is mainly aimed at service providers to facilitate secure information sharing and workflow management between service providers, clinics and specialists. Currently the system supports cardiac monitoring services, but the same technology can be applied to any biosignal measurements, such as brain monitoring and home sleep apnea testing services. Data transfer is secured with Bittium SafeMove® VPN software, which uses strong encryption algorithms to guarantee the confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of communications.
In December, Bittium released a new version of its Bittium Cardiac Navigator™ cardiac analysis software. The new software version introduces improvements in, among other things, P-wave detection, which further increases the analytical accuracy of measuring the atrial fibrillation. Cardiac Navigator is used by several customers of Bittium Faros™ ECG devices that measure the electrical activity of the heart.
Market Outlook
Medical ECG and EEG Remote Monitoring Markets
- The medical technology market is undergoing significant development in patient care, especially outside hospitals. There is an increasing focus on the prevention of diseases and health problems through early diagnosis and the repatriation of patients at an earlier stage to reduce hospital and treatment days. These actions significantly increase efficiency in health care processes and lower costs.
- A perquisite for early repatriation is the enabling of accurate and precise follow-up and measurement opportunities in home conditions, which would be enabled through remote monitoring. Remote monitoring and remote diagnostics also enable specialists´ diagnoses regardless of time and place. Also evolving artificial intelligence-based algorithms are increasing to support physicians in making diagnoses. Remote monitoring and remote diagnostics make it possible and faster to obtain more accurate diagnoses, which, in turn, speeds up the start of the right kind of treatment. The market change will enable several new providers to join the overall care service chain, without compromising the quality of specialist services in areas such as cardiology and neurophysiology.
- For remote monitoring and remote diagnostics Bittium provides its Bittium Faros™ product family for remote heart monitoring and Bittium BrainStatus™ for measuring the electrical activity of the brain, as well as different kind of software for diagnostics.
- As the Covid-19 pandemic spread the number of non-emergency patients going to treatments and tests to healthcare providers decreased. Several hospitals and medical care facilities have postponed their non-emergency tests and examinations and focused on the treatment of the pandemic patients as well as on actions preventing the virus from spreading. The situation varies from country to country and in some countries the pandemic situation is worse than in others. In the long term, the pandemic will accelerate the use of remote services in hospitals and medical care facilities, and thus creates positive development on the demand of the remote monitoring products and services.