University Hospitals expands use of TempTraq system

To protect health care workers, patients, and families, and help flatten the curve of COVID-19’s progression, University Hospitals (UH), one of the largest health care systems in Ohio, will begin to expand the use of TempTraq from Blue Spark Technologies to specific areas within the UH health system.

“This technology was originally introduced to University Hospitals in 2016 by the UH Ventures and Innovation group, as Blue Spark was looking to validate the use of the TempTraq patches in the clinical setting. It’s worked very well at UH Seidman Cancer Center and we realized it could have an even bigger impact in the battle against COVID-19 if we started using in targeted University Hospitals locations and departments,” says David Sylvan, president of UH Ventures.

This single-use, disposable, wireless patch will continuously monitor the temperature of University Hospitals caregivers who are exposed to or caring for COVID-19 patients and opt into the program. The soft, comfortable patch monitors, records, and wirelessly transmits real-time data for up to 72 hours. UH can remotely monitor caregivers’ temperatures through a dashboard with little-to-no direct contact, so medical professionals and support staff can deliver critical care to patients quickly, without interruption.

“Those delivering close-contact aid and medical treatment to patients experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are on the frontlines,” says Theodoros N. Teknos, M.D., president and scientific director, UH Seidman Cancer Center. “If they fall ill with COVID-19 symptoms, we face losing an essential line of defense against this disease and also risk infecting others, further perpetuating the problem. By continuously monitoring our health care workers’ temperatures rather than intermittently, we are better positioned to intervene quickly to ensure the safety and health of our caregivers and our patients.”

Caregivers caring for COVID-19 positive patients or those who have a high risk of exposure or known exposure will have the option to wear a TempTraq monitor. As soon as a fever is detected, the caregiver will be removed from common areas immediately. They will then report to a supervisor who will call an internal COVID-19 hotline to determine next steps of action.

“We are immensely thankful for the men and women who are working tirelessly to care for those inflicted with COVID-19,” says John Gannon, Blue Spark president and CEO. “And we’re grateful to be able to do our small part to protect them during such a difficult, uncertain time.”

TempTraq is supported by both patient- and clinician-facing mobile apps with data centrally stored on TempTraq connect, a HIPAA-compliant cloud service. Data monitoring is also available on the TempTraq Clinician web portal or routed directly to hospital EMRs. The TempTraq system is scalable and can support a single hospital or a multi-hospital/physician group healthcare system. TempTraq is currently being used and implemented in hospitals across the US, Europe, and Australia.