‘Smart sheath’ uses AI to detect bleeds during endovascular procedures
A New Jersey hospital is testing an artificial intelligence (AI) device designed to alert clinicians to bleeding episodes during endovascular procedures.
According to a press release, the Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System—manufactured by Houston-based Saranas—uses a sheath embedded with sensors to detect when the electrical resistance changes across blood vessels. Fluctuations in electrical resistance could signal blood pooling outside of vessels, triggering audible and visual notifications that alert the care team to a possible bleed.
Early notification of this potentially life-threatening complication could result in the bleeding being stopped or prevented, which would lead to reduced complications, lower healthcare costs and shorter lengths of stay, the released stated.
“Twenty million patients in the United States undergo vascular access procedures each year, and approximately one million experience a severe bleeding complication,” Philippe Genereux, MD, the co-director of the Structural Heart Disease Program at Morristown Medical Center, said in the release. “We are very excited at Morristown Medical Center to pioneer the world’s first smart sheath. By using the Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System during some of our more complicated procedures, we’re offering patients additional safety and confidence that they will be monitored at the highest level during and after their procedure.”
Sheaths are commonly used in cardiac and vascular procedures to keep arteries and vessels open, making the device applicable to existing operations. The Early Bird system was invented at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston and is currently available for investigational use only.
To see a video of how the system works, click here.
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.