Covidien has launched the Capnostream 20p bedside capnography monitor, a device that features Apnea-Sat Alert algorithm that, as the name implies, sounds an alarm if the patient stops breathing or oxygen saturation levels drop in the blood.

The device could be particularly useful in PACUs and post-operative care floors, as well as in critical care units. According to Scott Kelley, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Respiratory and Monitoring Solutions at Covidien, “studies show that as many as 88% of hospitalized patients may be at risk for recurrent apneas, yet we’re only identifying and treating a very small number. The Capnostream 20p bedside monitor will help increase apnea detection rates and represents an important advancement in continuous patient monitoring that we believe will help save lives.”

Additional features within the Capnostream 20p:
-Smart Breath Detection?, a proprietary filter and pattern recognition algorithm that screens out low-amplitude “non-breath” etCO2 excursions like snoring, talking or crying, to provide a more accurate respiratory rate.

-Smart Alarm for Respiratory Analysis (SARA?), alarm management technology that helps prevent alarm fatigue by reducing clinically insignificant respiratory alarms.

-Nellcor? SatSeconds, technology that helps analyze oxygen desaturation events.

-Integrated Pulmonary IndexTM (IPI) an algorithm that combines four respiratory measurements
–capnography, respiratory rate, pulse rate and pulse oximetry–to provide clinicians with an integrated snapshot of respiratory status.

source:Covidien