A temperature probe that attaches to a mediport to monitor for fever.
Each year, over 200,000 people in the US receive a long-term central venous catheter called a mediport to infuse medications and nutrition. Unfortunately, the mediport puts them at risk of serious bloodstream infection. A resultant fever is a medical emergency and consequently, quick recognition of fever is important. These patients spend a majority of their time at home, without vital sign monitoring, and home-based fever detection is limited to manual checks or wearable equipment that certain patient populations cannot tolerate. Deciding when and how to check a temperature causes stress and anxiety for the caregiver and decreased quality of life for both caregiver and patient.
Technology Description
Our innovation is the Port Thermometer, a temperature probe that attaches to the mediport, monitors for fever, and alerts caregivers. The thermistor is the temperature-sensing component of the device which continuously monitors an analog signal that changes with temperature fluctuation. An increase in core temperature above 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) is converted to a digital signal that is transmitted by the wireless communication chip to a remote recorder. The remote recorder in turn transmits the digital temperature to an application on the caregiver’s phone that is protected by 2-factor authentication, thus alerting the caregiver of a fever. The device is powered by a lithium battery, the same kind used to power pacemakers. All components of this system are as long-lasting as the mediport itself and are entirely biocompatible.Advantages
Measures core body temperature for accurate reading
No manual effort
Real time, continuous temperature monitoring
Non-invasive, already part of the port
Suitable for home useApplications
Home use
Long term care facilities
Nursing homes
HospitalsStage of Development
Concept; research interviews conducted with clinicians and nurses to assess potential of device and the customer demographic to be targeted; prototype development and pilot study design underwayIP Status
Provisional patent application filed
Innovators
Deirdre Nolfi-Donegan, MD
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Dr. Nolfi completed her undergraduate education at Seton Hall University and received her Doctorate of Medicine from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers. She completed a pediatric residency at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York and a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She is currently a faculty member in the Division of Hematology-Oncology specializing in platelet and coagulation disorders.Reshma Sara Pothen, MS
Graduate Student
Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
Reshma Sara Pothen is currently attending the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business pursing a master’s degree in Management Information Systems. She is also simultaneously pursuing a Certificate of Advanced Study in Big Data Analytics. She also holds an undergraduate degree in information technology and works at Kennametal as an IT intern. In these capacities she has been part of many research projects and multiple leadership positions.Johnson Bandi
Graduate Student , Joseph M Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh
Johnson Bandi is a 2nd year MBA student at the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Information Technology, he started an online auto-tech startup that connects users with local automobile service providers through a mobile app in the fragmented automotive service market in India. He specializes in B2B Sales, operations, validating product-market fit, digital marketing, and UI/UX design.