# Non-contact In-Bed Sensing of Heart Failure Decompensation

> **NIH NIH R43** · NIGHTINGALE LABS CORPORATION · 2021 · $223,612

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT:
Chronic heart failure is a highly prevalent and costly disease marked by frequent exacerbations
leading to recurrent hospitalizations. Heart failure patients have extraordinarily high
hospitalization rates for fluid overload, which can often be avoided if exacerbations are detected
early and diuretic therapy is intensified in the outpatient setting. Unfortunately, self-
measurement of weights and self-reporting of symptoms have proven ineffective. The utility of
home monitoring technologies has been limited by poor adherence to self-measurement, self-
transmission of data, or self-application of wearables. Implantable devices have shown success
but are invasive and expensive. Non-contact sensors are currently position-dependent and not
compatible with multiple persons sleeping in the same bed. Nightingale Labs was founded to
commercialize a non-contact adherence-independent sensor called Bedscales. Our preliminary
results show that the low-profile mechanical sensors, when placed beneath the legs of a home
bed, can perform adherence-independent sensing of total body weight, movements,
respirations, and cardiac signals for months without patient interaction, even if the bed is shared
by partners or pets. The overall goal of this Phase I SBIR is to define sensor accuracy in a real-
world heart failure population in preparation for a prospective clinical study in Phase 2. By
defining the signatures of impending hospitalization, BedScales aims to make outpatient
management of heart failure a data-driven science.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10189423
- **Project number:** 1R43HL157291-01
- **Recipient organization:** NIGHTINGALE LABS CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Raymond C Chan
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $223,612
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-15 → 2023-03-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10189423

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10189423, Non-contact In-Bed Sensing of Heart Failure Decompensation (1R43HL157291-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10189423. Licensed CC0.

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