While hospitals were scrambling for ventilators, masks and gloves in preparation for a COVID-19 surge, many were also installing baby monitors in emergency departments and intensive care units.
Since all critically ill patients with breathing problems need to be treated as suspected COVID-19 cases, resuscitation and emergency treatment has to take place in a sealed room.
Although hands-free voice-activated technologies are increasingly common in homes, many hospitals don’t have them. “As we were preparing for a surge in COVID-19 cases, we realized we were going to need a way to communicate from inside a room to the outside of the room without breaking negative pressure seals,” says Dr.