Microlife Semi-Manual Cradle VSA (Vital Sign Alert) Blood Pressure Monitor
R975.66 Including VAT
The world’s first medical device to detect shock and high blood pressure in pregnant women could cut maternal deaths in developing countries by up to 25%, saving more than 70,000 lives a year.
The hand-held device measures blood pressure and pulse to calculate the impending risk of shock. The Cradle VSA may prevent deaths by detecting the signs of shock and high blood pressure early.
The device requires minimal training. It has a traffic light system that clearly indicates the risk of shock or high blood pressure:
- green if a woman is not at risk
- amber if she needs to be carefully monitored
- or red if she requires emergency treatment
The Cradle VSA is the first such device in the world to achieve World Health Organisation standards for use in under-resourced settings. It is accurate and the battery is suitable for the developing world as it can be used with USB phone chargers.
Description
The Microlife CRADLE VSA
The Microlife CRADLE VSA can accurately measure blood pressure and heart rate and uses these values to calculate whether the woman is at risk of developing shock.
Accurate
It took six years to produce an algorithm that is accurate in non-pregnant adults. Further modifications and rigorous testing ensured the device is accurate in pregnancy including women with high blood pressure, and uniquely women with low blood pressure in pregnancy.
Robust and Low Cost
The Microlife CRADLE VSA has been developed specifically to meet the World Health Organisation criteria for use in a low-resource setting. It is low cost at approximately $20 per device, it has low power requirements and can be charged using a standard mobile phone charger. It is also robust, this means it stays extremely accurate even at extremes of temperature and humidity, after being dropped from a height of 20 metres and after being used more than 20,000 times at high pressures.
Innovation
The Microlife CRADLE VSA incorporates a novel early warning system. The vital sign results are shown as a traffic light display so that even those who do not recognise abnormal results are alerted to the need for action. Severe bleeding, severe infection and blood pressure disorders are the most common cause of deaths in pregnancy. All of them are directly correlated with abnormal vital signs. Therefore the warning lights are triggered by high blood pressure as well as low blood pressure and shock.
Recognition
The Microlife CRADLE VSA is the cheapest and most accurate blood pressure device available to use in pregnancy. For this reason, it has been recognised as one of the top thirty high impact innovations in global health in a recent PATH-led award to help accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It has also been adopted into the medical archives of the Science Museum, London. If you would like to know more about purchasing devices please see the contacts page.
