The Irish Medtech Association, the Ibec group that represents the medtech sector, is putting a spotlight on the Irish medtech community’s critical role in helping healthcare professionals work safely and treat patients affected by COVID-19 as well as support Ireland’s reopening.
Acting Director of the Irish Medtech Association, Nessa Fennelly said “We are proud of how our sector has made an impact in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From Cork and Galway, to Athlone and Dublin, this is a national effort. In the coming weeks, the Irish Medtech Association will be offering insights of how medtech leaders in Ireland are assisting the frontline fight against COVID-19 here, and across the world. Ireland’s medtech community has stepped-up to the challenge in the face of unprecedented need to deliver diagnostic tests, personal protective equipment, respiratory support equipment and digital health solutions to tackle COVID-19.”
Fennelly added, “This week, to start our Medtech Good News campaign, we are delighted to focus on digital health. Digital health solutions are an exciting area of innovation that are playing an increasingly important role since the start of the pandemic by offering vital insights and supporting remote care. A fantastic example of how these technologies are at the vanguard of combating COVID-19 is the ACORRD clinical support tool developed by S3 Connected Health, with the support of consultants from the Royal College of Surgeons. This medical technology helps clinicians using a web-based application on their smartphone, to track disease progression, assist in the early identification of patient deterioration, and provide timely advice to the care team.”
Commenting on the Assessment of COVID-19 Risk of Respiratory Deterioration (ACORRD) tool, President of S3 Connected Health and Chair of the Irish Medtech Digital Health Working Group, Jim O’Donoghue said “ACORRD has had a real impact in the fight against COVID-19. By building on our existing Affinial platform we managed to accelerate development and bring ACORRD from concept to deployment in just ten days after receiving a rapid response on a derogation from the Health Products Regulatory Authority. We are proud to see ACORRD already in use in major Dublin hospitals, as well in a pilot programme in Northern Ireland. We are grateful to our frontline healthcare workers for their tireless efforts to protect us from the virus, and we’re honoured to play a part.”