SUMMARY
The research of Lyle J. Olson, M.D., is on the development of electronic tools to enable the remote surveillance and management of patients with chronic diseases outside traditional health care facilities such as clinics and hospitals.
Dr. Olson works as part of a multidisciplinary team consisting of clinicians, engineers, physiologists and informatics specialists who have developed sensor technology and a related monitoring platform. This technology detects, transmits, stores, summarizes and analyzes remotely acquired physiologic data, which is to be made available to health care providers at the point of care to support clinical decision-making.
The team's efforts are focused on building a remote monitoring platform to facilitate management of patients with heart failure to aid in the reduction of hospital readmission rates. Randomized, controlled studies, funded by the National Institutes of Health, evaluate the efficacy of the remote monitoring platform in the management of heart failure.
Dr. Olson's research collaborators at Mayo Clinic include Charles J. Bruce, M.D., Paul A. Friedman, M.D., Bruce D. Johnson, Ph.D., and Virend Somers, M.D., Ph.D., as well as other clinician-investigators outside Mayo Clinic.
Focus areas
- Remote sensor systems. Dr. Olson's ongoing research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, includes development and deployment of sensor systems for noninvasive detection of physiological signals. It also incorporates wireless technologies for transmission of remotely acquired data, data storage, summary, analysis and integration with the electronic health record, including decision support for clinicians.
- Cardiac telemetry. Dr. Olson has developed technology that enables remote real-time cardiac telemetry as well as detection of other physiological signals, which are wirelessly transmitted to an operational dedicated remote monitoring center for identification and characterization of clinical events and prediction of future adverse outcomes. This technology has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Significance to patient care
The ability to remotely monitor patients with chronic health conditions such as heart failure has the potential to improve patient quality of life while simultaneously lowering cost and the risk of morbidity and mortality.
The technologies under investigation will promote enhanced communication between patients and providers, and will gather data to support clinical decision-making without the need for patients to travel to traditional sites for surveillance or care. These same technologies will also provide educational tools, health coaching and alert systems to help patients and providers reduce the risk of adverse events.
Professional highlights
- Member, editorial board, Sleep journal, 2010-present
- Co-author, "Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease: An American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation Scientific Statement," Circulation, 2008