Journal & Conference
A clinical evaluation and acceptability study of the innovative SurePulse VS wireless heart rate monitor across the neonatal journey
Jennifer Peterson, Clare Jennings, Ajit Mahaveer
Read More
SurePulse VS SurePulse VS
Introducing our wireless heart rate monitoring Cap, specifically designed for newborn babies
SurePulse VS facilitates confident decision-making – accurate and reliable heart rate information is displayed in real time to the whole clinical team.
“The SurePulse device has potential to be a significant advancement in the way neonatal patients are monitored in a variety of post-delivery circumstances”
Frontiers in Pediatrics
Frontiers
Wireless heart rate monitoring allows parents to hold and cuddle their baby whilst being monitored.
Accurate and reliable heart rate information in real time.
Touchscreen enables birth timer and event recording.
Supports optimal neonatal care
The heart rate of the baby is critical for guiding the stabilisation process and resuscitation interventions, as is recognised in National and International Guidelines (Aziz). However, all current heart rate assessment approaches have drawbacks as in the critical first few minutes they do not always provide an early enough or sometimes an accurate enough heart rate.
Transforming outcomes
Remove the barriers to better care.
Wireless monitoring offers new possibilities
SurePulse VS is wireless which provides significant opportunities for more flexible, evolving delivery room practices whilst monitoring heart rate. In addition to facilitating wireless stabilisation and resuscitation, these opportunities include delayed cord clamping, delivery room cuddles, skin-to-skin care (kangaroo care), early breastfeeds, palliative care, and less invasive approaches to stabilisation.
Patient safety
The touchscreen and data download facility supports and improves patient safety, audit, clinical governance, and training. By facilitating a date/time stamped downloadable record of heart rate information and the sequencing of clinical interventions, SurePulse VS supports the review of delivery room experience.
This also addresses a common problem as the recording of heart rate information and clinical interventions is notoriously inconsistent in the delivery room. The SurePulse VS touchscreen interface makes this easy and routine, and may also help if a retrospective review is needed – for example in a serious incident investigation.
Fits into existing patient clinical pathways
Many babies have a hand-knitted or medical cap put on their heads straight away to prevent heat loss. As the SurePulse VS heart rate sensor is fitted into a very easy-to-fit cap then little process change needs to be made.
Clinical trials conducted at the Nottingham Universities NHS Trust established the thermoprotective equivalence of the SurePulse cap, compared to other commonly used caps.
Device overview
Cap
- Thermoprotective cap in 5 sizes.
- 20cm – 40cm head circumference (23-weeks GA to 42-weeks).
- Easy to fit T-shape design.
- Accommodates CPAP and endotracheal tube apparatus.
Device overview
Display
- Displays heart rate and pulse waveform continuously.
- Touchscreen enables birth timer and event recording.
- Battery life 4-hours (Modules 2 x 2 hours each).
- Award-winning design.
Device overview
Additional features
- Carry-handle hooks over the resuscitation table.
- Pole-clamp is also available.
- Heart rate and time/date stamped event data storage (100-hours).
- Data downloadable on a data stick.
- Reports generated as pdf and CSV files.
JOURNAL ARTICLE
“The heart rate of the baby is critical for guiding the stabilisation or resuscitation process; however, current monitoring methods do not always provide an early enough or sometimes an accurate enough heart rate which can lead to inappropriate clinical interventions.”
A randomised, simulated study assessing auscultation of heart rate at birth
VOLUME 81, ISSUE 8, P1000-1003, AUGUST 2010
RESUSCITATIONDesigned for the delivery room
The SurePulse VS has been designed for seamless integration into your existing delivery room set-up.
Download recorded data to a computer
Hooks over the end of the resuscitaire or warmer
Frequently Asked Question
How does the SurePulse monitor work?
The SurePulse VS uses reflective photoplethysmography (PPG) which is a similar technique to a pulse oximeter (transmission PPG), but it utilises green light. The sensor rests on the forehead detecting blood volume changes under the skin on the forehead.
Using green light provides a more accurate and reliable HR assessment than red/infrared light.
Reflectance PPG means that the forehead can be used for HR assessment, and the forehead capillary bed bloodflow is maintained (from the carotid artery) even when the baby’s extremities/limbs may be poorly perfused (Grubb et al 2014).
How accurate is SurePulse VS?
SurePulse VS provides wireless, accurate and continuous heart rate information (to within 5 beats per minute of ECG) (Henry et al, 2020)
What are the advantages of using SurePulse VS compared to ECG?
The SurePulse VS provides continuous and accurate heart rate and pulse waveform information (within 5 beats per minute of ECG) (Grubb et al, 2024).
ECG leads can cause skin-stripping and consequent scarring and infection risk (Dawson et al, 2018).
Vernix on a newborn baby can also make it difficult to get appropriate contact with ECG electrodes (and the need to reapply the electrodes is common)
Electrode wires are often inconvenient when managing a newborn baby (for example when a baby is put into a thermoprotective bag).
There have been recent reported cases of Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) where the electrical activity of the heart does not result in contraction of the heart muscle, and therefore ECG alone may not always be a reliable indicator of cardiac output (Luong et al 2019). As the PPG pulse waveform (trace) on the SurePulse VS Display screen matches the blood flow across the baby’s forehead, it shows whether or not the heart is actually pumping blood (cardiac output).
What are the advantages of using SurePulse VS compared to pulse oximetry?
- Pulse Oximetry (PO) was developed to provide oxygen saturation information and not heart rate (HR), for which it has been reported to be less accurate than ECG ( Iglesias et al, 2018 & Kamlin et al, 2008). The PO probe is usually attached to the newborn baby’s right wrist (pre-ductal), however an accurate and reliable HR relies on good perfusion which is often not present in the extremities in premature, poorly or unresponsive babies. In poorly perfused newborn babies blood is preferentially directed to the head, heart and vital organs in preference to the extremities, underlying the advantage of the SurePulse VS forehead-based approach.
- In an observational study (Kolstad et al, 2023) of 230 newborn babies needing resuscitation, a ‘useful’ HR assessed by PO was observed for only 33% of babies for the first 10 minutes and only 5% when babies were being ventilated (Kolstad et al, 2010).
What are the advantages of using SurePulse VS compared to using a stethoscope?
The stethoscope is frequently used in the delivery room, and whilst it is very low-cost, it is well documented that stethoscope-assessed heart rates in the delivery room are inaccurate to the extent that incorrect clinical intervention decisions are indicated in up to 1/3 of assessments (Voogdt, 2010).
Downloads
SurePulse VS Brochure
Download the SurePulse VS Brochure
SurePulse VS User Manual
Evidence
The SurePulse VS has been part of extensive clinical evaluations and real-world clinical evaluations resulting in the following peer-reviewed publications.
Want to know more?
