New Web-Based Ventilator Monitoring System Consisting of Central and Remote Mobile Applications in Intensive Care Units

Abstract

A ventilator central monitoring system (VCMS) that can efficiently respond to and treat patients’ respiratory issues in intensive care units (ICUs) is critical. Using Internet of Things (IoT) technology without loss or delay in patient monitoring data, clinical staff can overcome spatial constraints in patient respiratory management by integrated monitoring of multiple ventilators and providing real-time information through remote mobile applications. This study aimed to establish a VCMS and assess its effectiveness in an ICU setting. A VCMS comprises central monitoring and mobile applications, with significant real-time information from multiple patient monitors and ventilator devices stored and managed through the VCMS server, establishing an integrated monitoring environment on a web-based platform. The developed VCMS was analyzed in terms of real-time display and data transmission. Twenty-one respiratory physicians and staff members participated in usability and satisfaction surveys on the developed VCMS. The data transfer capacity derived an error of approximately 10−7, and the difference in data transmission capacity was approximately 1.99×10−7±9.97×10−6 with a 95% confidence interval of −1.16×10−7 to 5.13×10−7 among 18 ventilators and patient monitors. The proposed VCMS could transmit data from various devices without loss of information within the ICU. The medical software validation, consisting of 37 tasks and 9 scenarios, showed a task completion rate of approximately 92%, with a 95% confidence interval of 88.81–90.43. The satisfaction survey consisted of 23 items and showed results of approximately 4.66 points out of 5. These results demonstrated that the VCMS can be readily used by clinical ICU staff, confirming its clinical utility and applicability. The proposed VCMS can help clinical staff quickly respond to the alarm of abnormal events and diagnose and treat based on longitudinal patient data. The mobile applications overcame space constraints, such as isolation to prevent respiratory infection transmission of clinical staff for continuous monitoring of respiratory patients and enabled rapid consultation, ensuring consistent care.