An eye on your patient
IDMED, a small MedTech company based in Marseille, France, develops and markets innovative medical devices for anaesthesia and intensive care.
Used worldwide in operating theatres and intensive care units, their products rely on LEMO solutions for safe and secure connections.
In an intensive care unit of a Marseille hospital, a young patient lies motionless in her bed, her unconscious body connected to an intricate web of blinking and beeping medical devices. Oxygen tubes snake through the air, the rhythmic whirring of pumps underscoring the intensity of the environment. A nurse enters swiftly, positioning a sophisticated, small, portable device over the patient’s wristband barcode, then over each eye, meticulously examining the information displayed on the touchscreen. She then quickly checks the other monitoring screens, and, noting that all readings are stable, she quietly exits the ward.
As the saying goes, “the eyes are the windows to the soul,” and medical science has shown that they are also a reflection of the brain. It is truly remarkable to observe the reactions of the pupil to light or other stimuli.
In the past, a simple penlight sending a flash of light into the eye and relying on the doctor’s or nurse’s subjective visual evaluation was used to determine the patient’s state of consciousness.
The technology used by the nurse’s compact device above relies on pupillometry to measure pupil size and reactivity, known as the pupillary light reflex. The compact device, called NeuroLight, enables quick and non-invasive assessment and diagnosis of the neurological function of critical ICU patients, such as those with head injuries or who have had a stroke.
About IDMED
We talked to Frédéric Bernert, president and co-founder of IDMED about their story, products and vision.
Nestled among the lush vegetation of olive groves and cypresses just outside Marseilles in the South of France, IDMED was founded on the day of the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony, on 08.08.08.
The two founders and friends, Frédéric Bernert and Thierry Bagnol, met at their previous company specialized in the field of ENT research. While studying patients with balance problems, they used to film the eye movements to detect various pathologies. It was back then that an anaesthesiologist mentioned that the pupil diameter also varies in reaction to pain. The two young engineers decided to use this idea to create their own company and harness the potential of pupillometry, for creating revolutionary devices.
The first product they launched was the NeuroLight, followed by the AlgiScan, a truly revolutionary innovation in anaesthesia.
Excessive analgesia can lead to undesirable effects such as hypotension, prolonged recovery times, nausea and vomiting, and morphine-related hyperalgesia. It is therefore important to be able to assess the level of analgesia objectively, tailored to each individual patient.
The pupil is the most sensitive marker of nociception in unconscious patients. The AlgiScan delivers the Pupillary Pain Index (PPI), a score that reflects the patients’ level of analgesia. The PPI is calculated from pupillary dilation during increasing electric stimulation. A higher PPI score indicates higher sensitivity to pain and lower analgesia whereas a PPI score close to 1 indicates high analgesia.
Finally, IDMED’s third product line focuses on monitoring neuromuscular blockade during anaesthesia or Train-of-Four (ToF) monitoring (4 consecutive electrical stimuli are applied along the nerve pathway, and the muscle's response is measured to assess which stimuli are blocked and which are successfully delivered) and acceleromyography. The technology assesses muscle responses to stimulation, providing valuable insights into the level of muscular relaxation. The user-friendly ToFscan stimulates nerves near the wrist, causing a thumb movement that is measured by an accelerometer. ToFscan has been IDMED’s most successful product, and it is also distributed worldwide by prominent German MedTech company Dräger.
With a staff of about forty, IDMED’s engineers design and develop the interface and software of the devices in-house. They have their own compliance and regulatory affairs specialists, ensuring that products are compliant with medical regulations in most countries. In addition, IDMED is proud to control 90% of added value through local suppliers and to assemble all end-products in-house.
IDMED’s customers include both local and global hospitals and clinics (mainly operating theatres and intensive care units).
“One of our major customers is Grenoble Hospital, at the foot of the French Alps, overloaded with patients suffering from head and brain injuries during the skiing season.”
What sets IDMED apart from its competitors is its close cooperation with hospitals, anaesthesiologists and neurologists. Frédéric Bernert emphasizes the importance of fieldwork and on-site hospital observations to identify new ideas and address medical challenges in direct partnership with customers.
In addition, IDMED stands out with its cost-effective, user-friendly and portable devices. The company’s small size enables greater agility, faster response times, and a shorter project timeline, while reducing administrative overhead.
Another key advantage is the company’s commitment to sustainability: IDMED avoids waste by offering reusable sensors and accessories, which can last for at least two years, rather than relying on disposable components.
Safeguarding the environment is firmly anchored in the company’s philosophy. Recycling, limited transport, reusable components and a customer service that “repairs what is repairable”, in addition to the company’s own ecological footprint, housed in a modern ecofriendly building.
When asked about IDMED’s vision for the future, Frédéric Bernert readily claims:
“We are committed to continued innovation in the field of medical anaesthesia and intensive care and to develop, in the field of brain monitoring, the potential of pupillometry, etched in our DNA.”
Discover more about IDMED : https://www.idmed.fr/en/
What we appreciate above all is consistent quality. We’ve never ever encountered any issues with non-compliance from LEMO throughout our successful cooperation.
Given its world-class reputation in the medical field, LEMO was the natural choice for equipping IDMED’s devices from the very beginning. Frédéric Bernert emphasizes the strong, trusting partnership with LEMO.
During the COVID crisis, when demand surged to save lives, LEMO France prioritized, ensuring continuous delivery of REDEL connectors and Northwire Biocompatic cables to its longtime customer.
