Warmie
Constant Temperature Monitoring for Preventative Care

Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the current healthcare landscape is increasing prophylactic measures to decrease viral transmission. These measures are further reinforced by the worldwide lockdown and mandatory usage of masks in public areas. However, the industry still lacks a quick and objective method to identify patients with early signs of infection. This is especially important for individuals who are at risk of acquiring the virus (medical staff, delivery personnel, elderly and immunocompromised patients). Warmie—a research and development project aimed at improving early detection of infections—is addressing this concern by monitoring body temperature constantly and prescreening people at risk who should seek medical help at the initial stage of the viral infection. Professor Tomasz Banasiewicz, M.D., PhD, notes, “Warmie offers a novel monitoring option for better patient care in and outside the hospital. Continuous body and wound temperature monitoring enables a much quicker response to a potential infection. Warmie sensor can also be easily integrated with other telemedical systems.”

WARMIE is not a simple thermometer and is capable of not only single-point temperature measurements but also evaluating patterns of temperature changes.

Given that body temperature changes throughout the day and depends on multiple conditions, it is more accurate to assess many measurements throughout the day and analyse them in comparison to an individual patient’s baseline. To this end, Warmie offers a personalised medicine approach and based on time-series pattern recognition, alerts the owner of potential health risks. The utility of this innovative solution is not restricted to measuring body temperature during viral infections. It can also be used in constant monitoring of unconscious patients treated in intensive medical wards, as well as patients who suffer from chronic wounds (such as diabetic foot ulcers). This increases the safety of these patients by rapid notification (of patients or caring persons, including medical personnel) in case of temperature deviation. Due to its ease of use, constant telemedical monitoring, automatic evaluation of temperature changes, and personalised suggestions, WARMIE is a highly sought after solution in the market.

The team at Warmie consists of scientists with a strong background in surgery, dermatology, and data analysis. As such, the solutions proposed by the team are heavily backed up by scientific research. “We saw a prominent gap in medical diagnostics. Temperature measurement is one of the essential objective parameters that are easy to get, but not used to the full extent of its possibilities. We wanted to change that. Along the way, we realised that this solution not only makes sense for scientific purposes but could be useful for the general public. We decided to turn it into a product,” says Banasiewicz. Warmie’s team is diverse and already has experience in working with Medigent Foundation, where the team members showed their skills in conducting clinical studies, scientific publishing, and made software for clinical decision assistance for doctors. Coming from the Medigent Foundation, the team is well prepared to enter the medical device market.

With its unique capabilities, Warmie has positioned itself a notch above other solutions in the market and is planning to expand rather quickly. For Warmie, the most important step right now is a clinical study to confirm its usefulness in decreasing the cost of healthcare and increasing safety for the patients in multiple medical indications. The company is planning to conduct a trial for continuous temperature monitoring of wounds after surgery, rapidly indicating potential side effects like surgical site infections. This way, WARMIE could be used to quickly initiate antibiotic therapy in such cases and protect patients from more severe side effects.