GE HealthCare has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Portrait Mobile wireless patient monitoring solution, which allows for continuous monitoring of vital signs regardless of a patient’s location. The company says it hopes clearance from the FDA will carve a path to wider adoption that could lead to better care delivery outcomes.  

The Portrait Mobile system is a wearable sensor for remotely tracking vital signs. A notable feature of Portrait Mobile is its capability to consistently capture respiration rate, an indicator often sensitive to early signs of patient deterioration. The sensors employ a dual-vector measurement approach, aimed at accurate tracking of a patient’s respiration rate, even as breathing patterns fluctuate. 

“Patients recovering from major surgery are fragile. Most patients currently have vital signs monitored every four-six hours. We have shown that vital sign abnormalities are common – and sometimes profound and prolonged,” Daniel Sessler, MD, Michael Cudahy professor and chair of outcomes research with Cleveland Clinic, said in a statement. “Many potentially serious episodes of instability are missed with intermittent vital sign assessments.”  

Sessler is overseeing a trial evaluating Portrait Mobile. He emphasized the potential of the technology to facilitate early interventions for patients at risk: “Continuous vital sign monitoring might help clinicians identify patients who are having difficulty so they can provide help quickly.”