Fundación EDPNews

The EDP Foundation is supporting the implementation of i4case, a sensor that works like a fingerprint reader and measures parameters such as blood oxygen and heart rate. It also simultaneously transmits information to doctors. This system was developed by i4life, an Asturian startup that carries out scientific and technological research and development activities. It keeps the user in constant contact with the medical team, measuring their state of health and alerting them if the oxygen in their blood is too low and they need to be admitted to hospital.

This ground-breaking project, which is being promoted by the innovation department and the EDP Foundation, also involves the participation of SEMERGEN, the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians. This entity will receive the devices and will be in charge of delivering them to the 25 patients from the public health system throughout Spain who will be taking part in the pilot study. The European Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) is also involved.

The features of i4case, which provides a warning if the situation is dangerous and the patient requires hospitalisation, make it a good predictor for vulnerable patients with respiratory pathologies and for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolated at home. The sensor makes it possible to anticipate medical care and decisions.

The project plans to incorporate another device in the patient's home that would measure environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), so that the data from both devices would allow correlation studies to be carried out to determine whether the conditions in the home are affecting the patient's health.