viQtor for people living with chronic illnesses

Because you want to feel safe and as healthy as possible. Because you want to prevent your complaints from getting worse. Because you don't want to go to the hospital, but you do want your doctor to know how you are doing. Because you want to keep doing all the things that make life so worth living. That's why you wear viQtor.

Safely in control

Especially at a later age, but sometimes also at a young age, people suffer from chronic diseases. The most well-known are cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD and osteoarthritis. As we get older, the number of people with a chronic disease is also increasing. More and more people also have more than one chronic disease.

Such a diagnosis has a major impact on your life and well-being. Lifestyle changes and medication use can make it easier to live with the condition. However, the complaints can worsen for various reasons. For example due to seasonal influences, stress or a deterioration in your condition.

Many patients with a chronic disease regularly visit a doctor for check-ups and (adjustment of) treatment. In some cases, (re)admission to hospital is necessary after aggravation of complaints.

What can viQtor mean for the chronically ill?

viQtor provides early recognition of deterioration in vital signs, such as a decrease in blood oxygen saturation or an increase in pulse rate or temperature. By continuously measuring these vital functions, such a change is immediately visible. This allows the doctor to intervene earlier and prevent (further) aggravation of complaints.

Patients with chronic illnesses may experience sudden dizziness and this may lead to falls. Uncertainty about falling can lead to reduced physical activity. viQtor is able to detect a fall, after which a caregiver can be called for support. Thanks to the built-in global positioning technology, we immediately know where someone is so that help can be provided. The patient can also use the help button.

How does viQtor work?

viQtor has a unique combination of functions, so that care for people with a chronic condition can be optimally supported. The device continuously measures a number of vital functions of the body: heart rate, oxygen saturation and skin temperature . This allows doctors and caregivers to see how things are going from a distance, and to intervene in time when necessary. In addition, viQtor has an activity monitor, fall detection and a help button. When using the help button or when a fall is detected, the location is also determined very accurately.

viQtor automatically measures every minute and sends the average of the measurements to the viQtor platform every 5 minutes. This is done via a highly secure internet-of-things (NB-IoT/LTE-M) connection, without the intervention of another device, such as a telephone.

It may take some getting used to being controlled like this. But it's also a comforting thought. Knowing that someone is watching you gives a sense of security. This way you can continue to do the things that are important to you for as long as possible. And you keep control of your life.

Benefits for healthcare professionals

ViQtor also has many advantages for healthcare professionals. The treating doctor or general practitioner can set limit values for the measurements. The doctor then receives an alert when these limits are exceeded. If the saturation level is too low, the heart rate or temperature is too high or too low, a signal is sent via the platform, on the basis of which action can be taken. Immediate action can be taken with lifestyle adjustments (such as eating less salt, more rest or more exercise) and/or adjusting the medication dosage. This way, viQtor can prevent deterioration of condition or increase of complaints.

Regular check-ups at the GP or hospital are often intended to be able to take measurements. With viQtor's continuous measurements, these visits are no longer necessary. The doctor always has access to the latest data and trends of vital values. Trends in measurement data give the doctor much more insight into the course of the disorder and the specific situation of a patient. Treatment can then be tailored much better to this.

By preventing admissions and (fall) incidents and also eliminating unnecessary checks, we save doctors and nurses valuable time. They only have to provide care when it is really necessary.

Medical Service Center

viQtor generates a constant stream of medical data and other important information. This data is clearly displayed in the online dashboard and in the apps. Trend lines indicate the wearer's heart rate, oxygen saturation, skin temperature and level of activity. An alert is automatically generated when the set limit values are exceeded, in the event of a fall or when the help button is used.

Agreements are made with the main practitioner (general practitioner or specialist) about who will take action at what time on the basis of this data. By calling in a Medical Service Center such as NAAST-ZCN, one of our partners in the Netherlands, a large part of the response can be moved to other care providers than the home care employees. Some hospitals have their own Medical Service Center that can be used for this purpose. In this way, doctors and nurses can devote their time to patients who really need their help. Making the right agreements about this together is part of the implementation phase of viQtor.

viQtor: the next step in monitoring

Monitoring patients with a chronic condition is not new. Many doctors ask their patients to take measurements at home and provide equipment for this. Patients perform these measurements themselves. The data usually is collected by the patient and entered into an app on the patient's smartphone and from there to a dashboard to the healthcare provider.

Continuous measurement with viQtor goes one step further. The patient wears the medical device on the upper arm and the measurements are performed automatically. So, no action from the patient is required to take measurements. No smartphone is required to send data; this happens automatically via a highly secure internet-of-things (NB-IoT/LTE-M) connection.

The battery of viQtor lasts about 5 days. This battery life can be much longer if the device is charged for half an hour every day, preferably if the wearer is not alone but has a visit from an informal caregiver or healthcare professional.

Thanks to the unique combination of functions, viQtor not only collects vital values such as heart rate and oxygen saturation, but also offers more safety for the patient at home with the fall detection function and emergency button.