Fifth Eye team from left: Bryce Benson, Jen Baird, Mark Salamango, Jeff Basch and Ashwin Belle. (Daryl Marshke, Michigan Photography)
When U-M researchers started getting spontaneous hugs from nurses while testing Fifth Eye, their new patient monitoring system, they knew they were on to something. Developed using machine learning and sophisticated signal processing, Fifth Eye monitors a single streaming EKG lead. Based on the activity of the heart, the system’s analytics can predict if a patient will deteriorate several hours before normal vital signs signal a problem is occurring. It can also monitor brain injuries and predict secondary injury for patients.
Fifth Eye CEO Jen Baird, a U-M alum, teamed up with researchers from the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care (MCIRCC) to create the startup with technology licensed through U-M Tech Transfer. “The potential application of the technology is large,” said Drew Bennett, associate director for software, mobile and digital technologies at U-M Tech Transfer. “They are using data that is already being generated. They aren’t trying to introduce something new into the clinical setting, but taking advantage of the information that’s already there.”
