Forget the Nurse Call Button. Patients Now Stay Connected by Wearing One

May 9, 2024

An empty hospital bed

(Fortune) – Patients admitted to Houston Methodist hospital get a monitoring device about the size of a half-dollar affixed to their chest — and an unwitting role in the expanding use of artificial intelligence in health care.

The slender, battery-powered gadget, called a BioButton, records vital signs including heart and breathing rates, then wirelessly sends the readings to nurses sitting in a 24-hour control room elsewhere in the hospital or in their homes. The device’s software uses AI to analyze the voluminous data and detect signs a patient’s condition is deteriorating. (Read More)