Roche’s Home Healthcare Medical Device For Anticoagulant Therapy Launches In Europe

Roche has launched a new PT/INR home self-testing device for European patients taking anticoagulant drugs. The home healthcare medical device market is a growing space, and new products have the potential to improve out-of-hospital care for patients.

The Switzerland-based company’s medical device – CoaguChek INRange – monitors a patient’s response to Vitamin K Antagonist (VKA) therapy by measuring blood coagulation. Since the medical device makes use of Bluetooth technology, it could help patients and physicians monitor treatment success more effectively compared to the current standard of care.

Currently, patients must visit a hospital or doctor’s office in order to assess how well they are responding to VKA therapy. The PT/INR testing is done using a blood test, for which lab results could take two to three days to be generated.

Roche’s CoaguChek INRange medical device uses a fingerstick – much like a glucose meter – with results in just 60 seconds. Along with reducing the number of visits to a physician’s office, the medical device could improve patient adherence to a monitoring schedule, thereby improving patient outcomes.

“In a clinical environment, we need to establish a model of care that empowers patients, helping them to understand their health condition and allowing them to take responsibility of their own health care needs,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Souto, of the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona, Spain. “The new technology will enable us to access the test results in the clinic’s database, to keep track of the individual patient’s status and to measure the quality of care provided by our clinic.”

According to Roche, research has shown that patients using self-testing monitoring devices spend more time at normal INR levels, and may have a lower risk of bleeding and stroke. The company’s home testing medical device could also strengthen the doctor-patient relationship by facilitating communication.

“As healthcare systems face continued pressure to deliver improved access to care at a lower cost, increased connectivity between healthcare providers and patients becomes even more important,” said Roland Diggelmann, COO of Roche Diagnostics. “This is another proof point towards our aim to position patient self-testing as the standard of care to monitor VKA therapy.”