Using everyday wearable tech to monitor kids in rural hospitals
Official title: Implementing a hospital-based continuous patient monitoring system using consumer wearable devices in Ghana
Funded at University of Alabama at Birmingham · NIH-11520823 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A hospital-based program in Ghana will test if inexpensive consumer wearables can safely monitor children remotely to spot problems early.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project start | December 29, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $34,667 |
| NIH project number | 3R21TW012943-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11520823 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pediatric patients in rural or resource-limited hospital settings who require continuous vital signs monitoring and have access to Bluetooth-enabled wearables.
✕Less likely to help
Children in settings with robust, existing monitoring systems or without access to compatible wearables may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project explores whether consumer wearable devices can continuously track vital signs for pediatric patients in a rural hospital setting in Ghana, with data streamed through Bluetooth to a local system. The goal is to support clinicians in recognizing early signs of deterioration so timely care can be provided. The study will adapt an EMR-agnostic approach to integrate wearables into routine care, focusing on affordability and real-time data. Results will inform how such a monitoring system could be scaled to other low-resource environments to improve pediatric outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could enable safer, quicker detection of worsening condition in children using affordable technology.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies show wearables can monitor vital signs, but this project tests a low-cost, EMR-agnostic setup in a rural, low-resource context.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ghomrawi, Hassan — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Ghomrawi, Hassan
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.