Datascope Introduces New Patient Monitoring System

Datascope Corp. said that it has developed a new patient monitoring system called NetGuard that monitors the electrical activity of the heart (EKG) in order to protect the unmonitored hospital patient population in the event of a life-threatening heart rhythm.

NetGuard is designed to continuously monitor patients to allow immediate detection and early treatment of a dangerous heart rhythm, and reportedly has been shown to significantly increase survival. The system is a very small wireless EKG monitor, weighing less than an ounce. The monitor communicates with a standard personal computer (PC) at a nurse’s station, which gives an alert and an EKG display when a dangerous rhythm is detected. One PC can reportedly cover 50 patients.