Advice

Summary

Summary

Visensia is physiological monitoring software that collates and analyses data from bedside monitors on 5 vital signs to produce a single patient health status score. This is used for early identification of deterioration that might lead to cardiac or respiratory arrest. One prospective, single‑centre, before‑and‑after study found that patients monitored with Visensia had a statistically significantly shorter average duration of any cardio‑respiratory instability and fewer episodes of serious and persistent instability, although changes in patient management may have influenced these findings. The Visensia software requires existing physiological monitors to provide data and costs £1950 for a 1‑bed perpetuity licence; individual hospital systems are priced according to size and include installation and configuration charges.

Product summary and likely place in therapy

  • Visensia software analyses data on a patient's heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturations and respiration rate to generate a single numerical score, called the Visensia safety index (VSI). Changes in the VSI indicate whether a patient's vital signs are deteriorating, stable or improving.

  • Visensia would be used in any hospital setting, where the physiological data are available, to help early identification of deterioration that puts patients at increased risk of cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Effectiveness and safety

  • One prospective, single‑centre, before‑and‑after study assessed the number and duration of cardio‑respiratory instability episodes in potentially unstable patients who had been transferred from intensive care units to step‑down units. Of the patients, 306 were monitored with Visensia and 326 had usual ward care. Patients monitored with Visensia had a statistically significantly shorter average duration of any instability, shorter average duration of physiologically significant instability, and fewer episodes of serious and persistent instability. Other instability outcomes, such as the number of admissions experiencing at least 1 episode of instability, were not statistically significantly different between groups. Mortality was recorded for each group but no statistical comparison was made. Changes to patient care introduced during the study may also have contributed to improvements attributed to Visensia.

  • Another fully published study was a retrospective analysis of a randomised controlled trial in which Visensia was used to record vital signs in high‑risk medical and surgical patients. Using the software, abnormal physiological episodes developing into major events, such as cardiac arrest, could be predicted with a sensitivity of 63% and specificity of 52%. Technical problems with the Visensia software prevented recording for the whole monitoring period in 33 (17%) patients.

Technical and patient factors

  • The Visensia software integrates with standard bedside monitors to collect vital sign data. It reports the data at central nursing stations or medical information systems.

  • Deterioration in a patient's VSI triggers an audible and visual alarm at the bedside and at the nurses' central station.

Cost and resource use

  • A number of purchasing models are available, including bed licence purchase and leasing via annual or monthly payment arrangements.

  • The cost for a 1‑bed perpetuity licence is £1950. As installations vary in size, individual quotes will be prepared to include installation and configuration charges.