Xerox has launched a suite of healthcare research projects that uses video cameras and data analytics to monitor a patient’s condition without wires, discomfort or risk of infection in the US and India.
The company’s Innovation Group arm is currently working with Manipal University Hospital in Manipal, India, and at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York to test the feasibility of using video cameras to develop technologies that continuously monitor the condition of patients.
Xerox research center research fellow in New York and project leader Lalit Mestha said, "Our initial work at Manipal was in the neonatal unit, evaluating the algorithms to monitor infant vital signs with cameras, but that has quickly expanded into other areas."
For the India project, researchers are exploring the use of video cameras and patented software algorithms to convert data collected by camera into vital signs.
According to the company, the video camera captures data such as skin becoming redder when a heart pumps blood and documents these subtle changes that are imperceptible to the human eye, and a computer then calculates a heart rate.
At the University of Rochester, Mestha’s team is exploring on a project that uses cameras to detect occurrence of atrial fibrillation, a rapid quickening of the heart that boosts a patient’s risk of stroke.
Xerox vice president and director of XRCI Manish Gupta said the company’s partnership with Manipal University Hospital is helping its move the technology closer to reality.
"This research can have great implications for the future of healthcare and telemedicine in India and across the globe," Gupta added.