The Netherlands-based research and development enterprise TNO announced that it has launched a new digital health subsidiary, AIKON Health. The subsidiary will focus on chronic care management, beginning from heart monitoring.
AIKON Health is in the process of developing a diverse range of wearable sensors, using the health patch technology initially pioneered by TNO at Holst Centre. TNO specialises in hybrid printed electronics and biocompatible material stacks.
Heart failure is a prevalent syndrome known for its elevated mortality rates, particularly in the critical post-hospital discharge period. After hospital discharge, more than half of heart failure patients experience readmission.
Implementing remote monitoring of heart failure indicators can be a lifesaver. This system enables early detection and intervention, thereby enhancing recovery prospects and reduces the likelihood of readmission.
Innovative health patch solutions
AIKON Health’s wearable sensors will monitor various factors, including ECG, heart rate, skin temperature, respiratory rate, and blood pressure fluctuations over an extended duration.
These wearable sensors will harness TNO’s dry electrode and materials technology, which has been honed for over a decade. They will deliver ultra-thin, stretchable, and breathable skin patches, ensuring reliable, long-term data collection.
The health patch solution will aid cardiologists and cardiology nurses in adjusting medications. It will also help oversee the treatment of patients with heart failure.
TNO senior consultant for medical wearables Thiru Kanagasabapathi believes it will help to reduce readmission by 25 per cent.
“More than 50 per cent of patients with heart failure are readmitted within six months of discharge. Our technology has the potential to reduce these early readmissions by as much as 25 per cent,” says Kanagasabapathi.
“Announcing the formation of AIKON Health is a critical milestone in our journey to becoming an independent company focused solely on empowering patients to take control of their own health and wellbeing,” he adds.
TNO’s advanced technology
The increasing ageing of Europe’s population will result in health and healthcare challenges. It will create a higher need for advanced devices like wearable biosensors that offer solutions.
Ton van Mol, the managing director of TNO at Holst Centre, emphasises that demographic changes resulted in growing shortages of healthcare professionals and escalating healthcare costs.
“With AIKON Health, we aim to create a potential game changer in healthcare, and ease the burden on the healthcare system by leveraging the advances in digitisation, sensor technology, and materials development,” said Van Mol.
A notable feature that sets TNO’s health-patch technology apart is its foundation in medical-grade structures. It harnesses their extensive knowledge in printed and flexible electronics.
This technology is both stretchable and waterproof. It ensures biocompatibility for extended periods of comfortable wear. It also conforms to the contours of any body shape.
The dry-electrode technology was collaboratively developed with materials partners and supports long-term wear. It is in contrast to traditional hydrogel-based electrodes that often lead to dryness and itching.
01
From port to startup fort: How Lars Crama is ‘Making it Happen’ in Rotterdam