Google's Nest cameras will help monitor coronavirus patients at Mount Sinai Hospital
Two cameras in each room will help nurses remotely monitor and communicate with patients in the New York City hospital.
Google has teamed up with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on a system that uses Nest cameras to monitor coronavirus patients.
Google has teamed up with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York to develop a system that uses Nest cameras to help monitor coronavirus patients.
Beginning this week, the more than 100 hospital rooms will be fitted with two Nest cameras. One camera will be used to communicate with the patients, while the other will monitor their vitals. The video from the Nest cameras will then be livestreamed directly to a console at the Mount Sinai nurse station in an effort to help health care workers save time and personal protective equipment, or PPE.
"We needed to find a way to give caregivers the ability to check on and communicate with patients that could supplement in-person checks, also helping reduce the use of PPE," wrote Robbie Freeman, a nurse who works at Mount Sinai, in a blog post Monday. "Every minute saved by remotely monitoring the patients can be offered to assist another person in need."
Coronavirus updates
Mount Sinai is the first hospital to team up with Google, but the search giant said it plans to provide 10,000 Nest Cams specifically built for monitoring patients to hospitals across the country.
Google has also contributed to coronavirus aid over the past few months by teaming up with Apple to develop contact tracing apps and by pledging $800 million to help small businesses and crisis responders.
