Nuvo™, an innovative healthcare company, is on a mission to revolutionize pregnancy care. The flagship product aims to empower pregnant women through remote monitoring– providing convenience and peace of mind to the moms and actionable insights for their care team.

Recently, Dr. Richard Broth, a renowned perinatologist and INVU by Nuvo™ prescribing physician, and Maggie Ockay, a Nuvo™ Customer Care Specialist,  sat down to dive deeper into their journey with Nuvo™, the challenges faced, and the impact that the groundbreaking device has on pregnancies worldwide.

About Nuvo™ and the INVU system

Nuvo’s mission is to transform pregnancy care by moving from the traditional, facility-based monitoring to remote monitoring with data-driven insights. The INVU system allows moms to monitor their pregnancy from the comfort of home, work, or even vacation. 

Here’s how it works:

1. Data Collection: The INVU sensor band captures vital data without a clinician physically present.
2. Cloud Processing: Data is analyzed in the cloud.
3. Digital Tools: Insights are provided to both moms and clinicians through a mobile application and provider dashboard.
4. Convenience and Peace of Mind: The system is prescription-initiated, enabling seamless integration into a care protocol for a patient, wherever the patient may be.

The INVU app allows moms to track their baby’s heart rate, hear a snippet of the heartbeat, and communicate with providers, creating a virtual in-office experience.

Dialogue with the Doctor

1. What are the exact checkups that can be performed with the belt?

Dr. Broth: The belt replicates an in-office non-stress test. It’s ideal for advanced maternal age, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other conditions. The data collected helps clinicians make actionable decisions remotely.

Guest Comment: “It’s reassuring to know that this device can help with high-risk pregnancies like mine!” said a participant in the forum.

2. Who decides when a remote checkup is done? Can patients decide?

Dr. Broth: Scheduling is a collaborative decision between the patient and physician. Most protocols suggest weekly monitoring, but schedules can be customized based on the patient’s needs.

Guest Comment: “I appreciate that it’s a team decision. It feels empowering to have input on my care schedule,” shared Lisa, an expectant mother.

3. What happens if I’m nervous about decreased fetal movement in the middle of the night?

Dr. Broth: With INVU, you can contact your on-call physician, who may initiate a remote session. This often saves a trip to the hospital and provides reassurance from the comfort of home.

Guest Comment: “This is exactly what I need. I’ve had too many sleepless nights wondering if I should go to the hospital,” commented Megan, a first-time mom.

4. Is there an option for self-monitoring?

Dr. Broth: No. The device is designed for clinical use under physician oversight to ensure medical safety. Patients cannot use it independently like a home doppler.

Guest Comment: “It’s good to know the boundaries. Safety first!” remarked a forum attendee.

A Patient’s Perspective

The forum included a testimonial from Alexis, a former patient. She highlighted the convenience of remote monitoring with INVU by Nuvo™, which allowed her to enjoy peace of mind without frequent clinic visits. “The device changed my perception of prenatal care. It’s a game-changer,” she said.

What’s next for Nuvo?

The team is focused on expanding accessibility of INVU by Nuvo™ for both moms and physicians. "Our vision is to integrate Nuvo into standard prenatal care worldwide," shared Ryan Kraudel, Chief Commercial Officer at Nuvo. "We’re also exploring AI-driven insights to enhance predictive capabilities."

The innovative device created by Nuvo™  is poised to transform the landscape of prenatal care, offering both convenience and clinical reliability. With glowing reviews from patients and healthcare professionals alike, it is clear this technology is filling a critical gap in pregnancy care.

Stay tuned for updates on Nuvo’s progress for creating a future of pregnancy care that looks brighter one patient at a time.

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Dr. Lawrence Platt is a renowned expert in obstetrics and gynecology, with a distinguished career spanning more than 50 years. He is recognized for his groundbreaking work in fetal assessment, maternal care, and medical imaging technologies. With an impressive track record of collaborating with startups and advancing innovative healthcare solutions, Dr. Platt has consistently pushed the boundaries of maternal-fetal medicine to improve patient outcomes.

Currently, Dr. Platt lends his expertise to Nuvo™, a trailblazing medical technology company revolutionizing prenatal care. Nuvo’s flagship product, INVU, has secured two FDA approvals offering leading-edge solutions for remote fetal monitoring. This innovation is transforming the way expectant mothers and healthcare providers approach prenatal assessments. By combining advanced technology with user-friendly design, INVU by Nuvo™ provides expectant mothers convenience and peace-of-mind, thereby enhancing  the quality of care, improving patient compliance, and making prenatal monitoring more accessible than ever before.

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Transforming Prenatal Care with Nuvo

Dr. Platt’s expertise in gynecology and obstetrics has often led him to collaborate with startups in maternal and fetal health, and his journey with Nuvo™ began during its early stages. He was drawn to Nuvo’s potential to improve the quality of care for pregnancies through innovative, patient-centered solutions.

Nuvo’s solution addresses significant challenges in fetal assessment by offering the option to have certain monitoring sessions done in the comfort and convenience  of the expectant mother’s home or office. . This reduces the logistical burden on expectant mothers, minimizing the need for frequent travel and easing time commitments. For mothers facing challenges such as distance, childcare, or transportation issues, Nuvo’s technology provides a vital lifeline. Additionally, it alleviates the strain on healthcare providers by reducing in-office resource demands, leading to cost savings for both patients and medical facilities.

Remote care advancements, particularly those accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, have underscored the value of innovations such as INVU by Nuvo™. Nuvo’s solution delivers results that are equivalent or superior to traditional in-clinic  monitoring methods. This breakthrough has the potential to establish new standards in prenatal care, enhancing compliance and enabling earlier detection of fetal distress. The system is especially beneficial for high-risk pregnancies, as it allows continuous monitoring from virtually anywhere with internet access and a direct link to your physician, supporting better perinatal outcomes.

With its ability to save time, reduce costs, and improve outcomes for mothers and babies alike, Nuvo has the potential to revolutionize prenatal care, offering a brighter and safer future for families worldwide.

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In a recent interview, Dr. Richard Broth, a renowned perinatologist at a private practice in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, shared his thoughts on INVU by Nuvo™ , The Nuvo™ platform offers INVU, a wearable sensor band with cloud-based processing and software applications tailored for both mothers and physicians. With over two decades of experience in high-risk pregnancy care, Dr. Broth provides an authoritative perspective on how this technology is poised to transform the way pregnancies are monitored.

Meet Dr. Richard Broth

Dr. Broth's journey in medicine began at the University of Maryland, followed by a residency in New York, and a fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Specializing in high-risk pregnancies, he has dedicated his career to ensuring the safety and well-being of both mothers and their babies.

When asked about his initial thoughts on Nuvo™, Dr. Broth revealed  - "I was blown away," he shared. "The concept of managing patients safely and competently from a distance was revolutionary, even before the pandemic made such solutions a necessity."

What Is Nuvo?

Nuvo’s core innovation lies in its convenience and exclusive technology—The INVU service is portable, self-applied band and mobile application that allows patients to monitor fetal health with the same or better quality than the standard tools used in doctors offices. Many pregnancies require frequent monitoring and Nuvo™ enables expectant mothers to perform tests in the comfort of their own homes. Dr. Broth explains, "It enables the same monitoring we do in the office, but now this cutting edge technology allows my patients to be at home, their workplace, or wherever they need to be. Imagine the evolution of a landline to a cell phone—the concept remains the same, but this technology and convenience changes everything."

Bridging Convenience and Safety

Dr. Broth’s enthusiasm for Nuvo™ is rooted in its ability to alleviate the burdens of frequent office visits. "For all patients and some with conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, regular monitoring is essential. These patients often have to visit the office twice a week. With INVU, we can reduce these visits and the additional stress that comes along with them, providing higher levels of care while freeing up time for other patients who need in-office care."

The convenience extends to doctors as well. "Every doctor I’ve spoken to is intrigued. It’s FDA/CE -approved, which clears a significant hurdle. The key now is integrating it into office models and proving its value through real-world use," Dr. Broth noted.

Transforming Patient Experience

When asked about patient reactions, Dr. Broth shared insights from his experience as a pilot site for INVU. "Patients loved it. It was easy to use and allowed them to monitor their babies at times convenient for them, even outside typical office hours. I could communicate with them in real-time and provide immediate peace of mind that their baby is safe."

Addressing Concerns and Building Trust

For expectant mothers who might hesitate to adopt new technology, Dr. Broth has a simple message: “This isn’t a new concept. It’s the same test we perform in the office, now made mobile for your convenience. The FDA/CE approval assures that the results are consistent and reliable. It’s about maintaining the highest level of care that fits into your life and schedule, without compromising on safety.

The Road Ahead

Dr. Broth is optimistic about the future of INVU. “Over time, we’ll prove that this service not only saves babies but also saves money. Insurance companies will see its value, and more patients will benefit from this convenient and safe approach.”

As prenatal care continues to evolve, innovations like Nuvo™ are paving the way for a more patient-centered approach. With advocates like Dr. Broth leading the charge, the future of pregnancy monitoring looks brighter than ever.

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Nuvo is honored to have been named to TIME's Best Inventions 2024 list of 200 innovations changing how we live.

To compile this year's list, TIME solicited nominations from TIME editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process, paying special attention to growing fields—such as health care, AI, and green energy. TIME then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, efficacy, ambition, and impact.

Of the new list, TIME’s editors write: “The result is a list of 200 groundbreaking inventions (and 50 special mention inventions)—including the world's largest computer chip, a humanoid robot joining the workforce, and a bioluminescent houseplant—that are changing how we live, work, play, and think about what’s possible.”

See the full list here: time.com/best-inventions-2024

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This article originally appeared in HIT Consultant: https://hitconsultant.net/2024/10/03/prenatal-monitoring-remote-technology-provision-of-care/

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The Evolution of Prenatal Monitoring: How AI and Remote Monitoring Can Improve the Provision of Care

by Amit Reches, CTO, Nuvo Group 10/03/2024

Prenatal monitoring technology has advanced considerably over the last decade. High-resolution sonograms now offer unprecedented clarity, enabling detailed insights into fetal development. Meanwhile, innovations have transformed previously cumbersome and uncomfortable equipment into more portable and user-friendly devices, enhancing accessibility and patient comfort. However, for essential insights into fetal health and development, clinicians still rely primarily on legacy in-clinic systems and techniques, such as cardiotocography (CTG), which possess inherent challenges.

Current Challenges with Legacy Systems

The non-stress test (NST), measuring maternal-fetal heart rate and uterine activity, remains the cornerstone of prenatal monitoring. This has traditionally entailed the use of CTG, requiring frequent visits to the clinic where monitoring is performed using technology that has changed little since it was first introduced in the 1950s.

It is well-known among clinicians that CTG can require frequent adjustments from the clinical staff to ensure the fetal heart rate trace is maintained. Additionally, NSTs create logistical pressures and burdens regarding patient flow and scheduling. Most significantly, the one-to-two weekly NSTs recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for the last eight weeks of pregnancy can put additional strain on patients financially, professionally, and personally. This can lead to poor patient compliance, resulting in suboptimal pregnancy management and risk of reduced health outcomes.

Meanwhile, as maternity care deserts continue to expand across the U.S., compounded by a chronic shortage of OB-GYNs and midwives, access to pregnancy care continues to become more challenging.

This situation is beginning to change, with the integration of new technologies that have the potential to enhance the accuracy of maternal-fetal monitoring and increase access to quality prenatal care.

Recent Advancements

The advent of telemedicine and remote patient monitoring over the last four decades has seen increased attention given to prenatal care innovation, with a number of companies attempting to make an impact in the space. Some players are leveraging existing technologies (including CTG), relying on the current standard of care and bringing it into the home. While adding some convenience, such solutions will still suffer from the preexisting requirements and inefficiencies of legacy systems.

Others are looking to employ newer advanced sensing technologies, including electrocardiography (ECG) and electrohysterography (EHG), which can overcome many of the inherent disadvantages associated with CTG. Meanwhile, new concepts of data collection, involving multiple synchronized wearable devices, have emerged to further move the industry forward, enabling providers to scale up monitoring sessions with the same number of clinicians.

Remote pregnancy monitoring thus has the potential to substantially improve the delivery of prenatal care and pregnancy outcomes, by democratizing care and increasing patient compliance.

The Need for Innovation in Cardiac Pregnancy Monitoring

Undetected fetal cardiac abnormalities play a significant role in perinatal outcomes. Moreover, with the maternal mortality crisis, greater attention to maternal cardiac health is also critical to improving outcomes. However, current tools to monitor fetal cardiac function are limited. They can only be performed in-clinic with devices such as echocardiograms and, where applicable, electrocardiography, which must then be interpreted by specialists.

With the general shift to home-based healthcare, there is an obvious need to provide remote access to medical-grade capabilities, enabling expectant mothers to maintain compliance and access essential care beyond the confines of healthcare facilities.

A remote solution based on a combination of technologies, such as non-invasive ECG and phonocardiography (PCG), can provide a detailed analysis of the structure and function of the fetal heart, providing a more complete picture than is currently available. It can also more accurately distinguish between the maternal and fetal heart rates to further improve the management of high-risk pregnancies and enable more timely intervention.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

The wealth of data generated from connected devices can support clinical decision-making and improve efficiency. However, this can also create a new bottleneck, with the same limited number of physicians now being asked to handle a greater workload, with exponentially more data in need of analysis.

Efforts are already underway to develop clinical decision support systems that can enhance efficiency and workflow by automating the review process based on existing guidelines. As technology continues to progress, these systems will leverage machine learning models to further streamline the review process and improve clinical decision-making.

In Steps AI

Already integrated across many healthcare disciplines, artificial intelligence has considerable potential to improve prenatal monitoring. Recently, significant advancements in AI have been made through leveraging foundation models, most notably large language models (LLMs) trained on vast amounts of data. Similar foundation models are now being applied to more diverse types of data, including physiological data such as ECG. Once calibrated to specific datasets, they can be used to perform essential tasks, such as diagnosing and even predicting previously undetectable high-risk cases in pregnancy monitoring.

This approach has the potential to dramatically improve the use of AI in medicine, by transitioning from the current foundation models to a new generation of domain-specific models requiring much smaller datasets. This new era of AI will prioritize the most informative data, enabling more precise and predictive prenatal care.

A Better Future for All

The evolution of prenatal monitoring, from outdated in-clinic systems to advanced remote capabilities, heralds a new era of more accessible and effective patient-centric care. Meanwhile, the introduction of new remote monitoring capabilities, enhanced by next-generation AI models, can address the growing challenges impacting maternity care. Through continued innovation and integration of new technologies, we can look forward to a future of improved outcomes for mothers and babies worldwide.

About Amit Reches

Amit Reches is chief technology officer of Nuvo Group, a company that is closing the gap in health disparities and social determinants of health with advanced pregnancy monitoring technology. Amit is an experienced research and development executive in the field of medical devices, with extensive experience leading multidisciplinary R&D teams. Prior to joining Nuvo Group, he served as VP R&D at Firefly Neuroscience, developer of a brain-mapping technology to improve outcomes associated with mental illnesses, and in various roles as an R&D team leader and researcher prior to that. Amit holds a PhD in Neuroscience from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and a BSc in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.

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Nacogdoches Women's Center has fully integrated Nuvo into their practice and conducts nearly all of their NST's remotely using the INVU by Nuvo platform. This has improved staff efficiency and patient satisfaction, while cost-effectively increasing revenue to their practice.

"The biggest impact I've seen is that we freed up space in the office so that we're able to see patients that have problems or more acute issues." - Dr. Kyle McMorries

Check out the full video here:

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Transcript: 

Dr. Kyle McMorries: Nuvo has had a positive financial impact on our practice in a couple of ways. The main benefit we've seen is by keeping patients at home, keeping patients happy and being able to reach patients who are particularly high-risk in areas that are further away from our office. We've seen upticks in the number of patients that we've been able to attract from those different markets. The biggest impact I've seen is that we freed up space in the office so that we're able to see patients that have problems or more acute issues.

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Dr. Kyle McMorries at the team at Nacodoches Women's Center (NWC) share their thoughts on how Nuvo's remote NST solution is helping their practice and patients. Here are a few quotes:

“We’re able to decrease latency and increase throughput because NST’s are out of the office in a more comfortable place for the patient.” - Dr. Kyle McMorries

“More than anything, Nuvo gives me peace of mind.” - NWC patient using Nuvo

"I can't imagine our practice without using INVU." - Alisa King, BSN, RN, CLC

Check out the full video here:

Transcript:

Dr. McMorries: We started to offer Nuvo to our patients in response to a lot of changes that were occurring geographically. We're in rural East Texas and several of the outlying hospitals that we're offering maternity services have shut down and for a lot of our patients that means they're 45 minutes to an hour and a half from the nearest delivering facility or maternal prenatal care center. 

Patient (Chelsea): I would have had to move to Nacogoches. I had not experienced pregnancy and anxiety ever before, like I just you got the blue lines and you're excited and that was it like you had a baby like you didn't have to worry about anything bad happening. So after we lost her I was very very very worried about him and just constantly worried that something was going to go wrong and so the minute that they did let me have the (Nuvo) monitor it helped so much.

Patient (Felicia): Really more than anything it gives me a piece of mind being a high-risk pregnancy. Kyle had talked to me about how often I would have to monitor the baby and so working full-time, Nuvo was an option where I could use it at work or at home and I wouldn't have to drive. I live an hour away from the clinic so I wouldn't have to drive an hour to be able to monitor the baby as much. 

Nurse (Alisa): It was very very nice for me personally as the nurse that was doing all of the NST’s. It allowed me to monitor eight patients at one time in a one hour period as opposed to having eight patients sprinkled all throughout the day and then that was that was the day and it would take up exam rooms and so for me personally it's been great. It's been good for the provider too because then that's not an exam room that's being used.

Dr. McMorries: The recommendation for Nuvo to other practices is two thumbs up and I would say as an office it's been extremely positive because of decreasing the latency of our rooms we're basically able to increase our throughput because of that (NST’s) being out of the office into a more comfortable place for the patient, so overall it's a very positive experience we very much recommend it. 

Nurse (Alisa): Honestly, I can't say enough positive things about it. We're going on 2 years and I can't imagine our practice without using INVU.

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Nacogdoches Women's Center has fully integrated Nuvo into their practice and conducts nearly all of their NST's remotely using the INVU by Nuvo platform. This has improved staff efficiency and patient satisfaction, while cost-effectively increasing revenue to their practice.

"I have to admit as a labor and delivery nurse I was a little skeptical at first because I thought “how is a patient going to monitor themselves at home”, but I have been shocked and amazed at how amazing it has worked, even better than our NST machine in the office when we have to use it." - Alisa King, OB nurse at Nacogdoches Women's Center.

Check out the full video here: 

We are pleased to share this short testimonial video from Deb Henretta, C-suite level executive and former head of Proctor & Gamble's global baby care business, sharing her perspective on the value Nuvo brings to patients and pregnancy care.