PMD Solutions
Revolutionising Respiratory Outcomes By Making Every Breath Count

Abnormal respiratory rates are the first sign of early clinical deterioration. Yet, it is the most neglected vital sign despite having substantial evidence that it is one of the foremost predictors of potentially serious clinical events including respiratory failure or cardiac arrest.

PMD Solutions, founded by Myles Murray, CEO of PMD Solutions, wanted to address the fundamental clinical need to measure a patient’s breathing rates, which if amiss, is a significant indicator of an adverse event. The creation of RespiraSense, the world’s only continuous and motion tolerant respiratory rate monitor, centered by the vision of improving patient outcomes by #MakingEveryBreathCount is a discrete wearable, worn on the side of the chest with the unique design measuring both chest and abdominal breathing. “By measuring each breath and understanding how it changes under different stressors, we have unlocked the new standard of care for respiratory ailments, much akin to the first commercialisation of the pulse oximeter or blood pressure monitors,” shares Murray, founder and CEO of PMD Solutions.

Revolutionising Respiratory Outcomes

PMD Solutions’ expertise in the domain can be traced even before the COVID-19 pandemic—and the subsequent need for sophisticated respiratory devices— came into the picture. Murray explains that even though COVID-19 has become one of the major catalysts in the adoption of digital healthcare solutions, improving outcomes is at the core of the emerging value-based healthcare model. RespiraSense is a disruptive digital health innovation that tackles respiratory compromised patients with pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and of late, COVID-19. Today, PMD Solutions is an enabler of such unmet needs. For instance, COPD is one of the most common causes of hospitalisation.

We are now expanding the use of RespiraSense among the general populace to evaluate how well it prevents patient readmission or facilitates earlier discharge

COPD patients suffer from permanently damaged lung tissue—affecting how easily they can breathe in and out—and require continuous medical attention. RespiraSense’s continuous respiratory rate monitoring system effectively underpins its advantages to empower healthcare professionals to identify the right care for the right patient at the right time. With evidence showing RespiraSense can identify which patients will enter respiratory failure 12 hours earlier, thereby avoiding a preventable escalation in care.

To substantiate the value proposition of RespiraSense even further, Murray describes a use case of RespiraSense for patients undergoing rehabilitation processes post respiratory disease. RespiraSense can make it more accessible for medical professionals to evaluate whether rehabilitated patients with respiratory deterioration requires increased levels of oxygen. Due to the accuracy of RespiraSense, care providers can offer precise diagnostics. What’s more? RespiraSense, piezoelectric continuous monitoring of respiratory rates algorithms run seamlessly to deliver reliable measurements to prompt meaningful interventions which can be deployed. Patients, especially those suffering from respiratory sepsis, can explore diagnoses efficiently through the clinical team. This clinical advantage impacts the patient’s quality of care, the clinical team’s efficiency, and the healthcare outcomes. “Because of such competencies, we hold the capacity to shift the care model from a reactive to a more proactive approach,” notes Murray.

PMD Solutions beyond COVID-19

Where COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented shift in the adoption of digital health solutions, the value of prevention over reaction is still at the centre value-based care. RespiraSense has made a significant contribution in aiding front line staff during COVID to prompt the right care for the right patient at the right time. This has resulted in RespiraSense being positioned as the de facto standard of care for any respiratory patients across the Irish healthcare system.

Globally, new models of care are being rapidly adopted due to the accelerated access to digital health solutions. Ireland is becoming a European leader in digital health solutions and RespiraSense is a key component in both COVID and non- COVID applications in the hospital and in virtual wards or ‘hospital-at-home’.

PMD is also leading the way as part of transformational care pathways with its hospital-at-home programs. “We are now expanding the use of RespiraSense among the general populace to evaluate how well it prevents patient readmission or facilitates earlier discharge. At the same time, PMD Solutions is also designing a ‘virtual ward’ where patients from home can be monitored by a hospital’s experienced respiratory teams. And through all these efforts, we want to ensure that we are always making every breath count, just as our tagline says,” concludes Murray.