GE Healthcare technology trialled by NHS trust

GE Healthcare has supplied an NHS trust with patient monitoring technology as part of a pilot scheme designed to improve quality of care.

NHS Central Lancashire has incorporated the medical technology firm’s IntelO Health Guide system in Preston, involving 40 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the initial 12-month trial.

The device allows patients to monitor data such as blood pressure and weight from their homes, as well as questioning them on their diseases and allowing them to speak with nursing staff via videoconferencing.

It is hoped that the scheme will allow NHS patients to manage their own conditions more independently and will be introduced more widely by the trust should the pilot prove successful.

Richard Rees-Davies, GE Healthcare’s UK general manager for home health, said: “The increasing cost and burden of chronic disease is a huge problem in the UK – this is where new health technologies like the IntelO Health Guide can make a real difference.”

Earlier this month, GE Healthcare announced that it is to commence clinical studies of its new Molecular Breast Imaging system, which is designed to offer better performance than conventional mammography.