A Continuous glucose monitoring system in critical cardiac patients in the Intensive Care Unit

Some studies show that a tight glucose control appears to have clinical benefits for cardiac patients at intensive care unit (ICU). However, it requires glucose readings every few hours in a tiresome operation. In the present study, a real time glucose monitoring system was implemented to control critical cardiac patients at ICU. For this, a commercially available Holter-like glucose monitor was used. A PocketPC was connected to the glucose monitor, downloading the collected data every 5 min, so real time readings could be obtained. The readings were transmitted using the HL7 communication standard to an Electronic Patient Record and to a bedside monitor at the ICU in real-time. These results have shown that the proposed methodology is a promising application to the ICU, providing a better treatment for critical cardiac patients.