Findings Released in ASCO Abstract Validate Life-Saving Impact of AION TempShield’s Long-Term Temperature Tracking for Cancer Patients.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AION Biosystems today announced a major breakthrough in cancer care: TempShield™, an AI-powered wearable thermometer, has been shown to reduce mortality by 90% and inpatient days by 79% in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. These results—announced in association with the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting—mark the first time long-term temperature tracking has been undertaken and validated in outpatient oncology.
The Crisis: Infection—The Silent Cause Behind 50%+ of Cancer Deaths
Infections remain one of the deadliest yet most preventable complications of cancer treatment, accounting for up to 60% of deaths in patients with hematologic cancers and nearly 50% of those with solid tumors. Up to 40% of patients discontinue chemotherapy early due to infection-related complications—creating a vicious “infection–treatment interruption” cycle that undermines survival. Yet the current standard of care still relies on patients taking their temperature only when they start to feel sick—by which point it’s often too late to intervene effectively.
The Breakthrough: A Lifesaving Head Start
The study was conducted at Roswell Park Cancer Care Network at Ellis Medicine and funded through the State of New York as part of the City of Schenectady’s Stay Well Program, championed by Mayor Gary McCarthy. The study focused on patients receiving active chemotherapy, with approximately 70% having solid tumors and 30% hematologic malignancies. Patients wore TempShield for an average of 120 days, making it the longest continuous temperature monitoring initiative ever recorded in outpatient cancer care. TempShield provides continuous, 24/7 temperature surveillance, triggering real-time alerts to clinicians often 72 hours or more before symptoms appear—allowing for early intervention and reduced hospital burden.
Key Outcomes Among Chemotherapy Patients:
- 90% reduction in mortality
- 79% reduction in inpatient days
- 52% shorter inpatient stays
- Fevers detected often 72 hours or more before symptoms
- 120-day average wear time per patient
“TempShield gave us a critical head start in detecting infections—allowing timely intervention, avoiding serious complications, and saving lives,” said Dr. Tallat Mahmood, Medical Director at Roswell Park Cancer Center at Ellis Medicine. “This study shows that long-term temperature monitoring benefits not just high-risk patients, but all chemotherapy patients.”
This study also challenges the prevailing clinical focus on fever detection only in patients considered at highest risk—such as those with neutropenia or cytokine release syndrome (CRS). The study shows that a far broader group of chemotherapy patients can dramatically benefit from the use of this device. Extending TempShield to all patients undergoing immune-suppressing treatment has the potential to prevent complications and save many more lives.
“The real danger in cancer care isn’t just the disease—it’s the complications we miss,” said Sam Barend, CEO of AION Biosystems. “TempShield is a game-changer: small, simple, and affordable, and it’s helping save lives by catching infections before symptoms appear—just like the blood glucose monitor did for diabetes.”
“The Stay Well Program was born out of an urgent goal: to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations in our community,” said Mayor Gary McCarthy. “We chose to start with cancer patients because they face some of the highest hospitalization rates—and I believed we could do better by intervening earlier. TempShield has proven that we can. Schenectady is showing what’s possible when a city puts health innovation into action.”
The Solution: Accessible, Scalable, Game-Changing
- 99% of patients were eligible for insurance reimbursement
- Over 50% of patients paid no copay
“The TempShield is one of the most practical inventions I could imagine for a cancer patient. I know it saved my life,” said Amy Raddick, a stage 4 breast cancer patient treated at Roswell Park Cancer Center at Ellis Medicine site.
The success of the Ellis study has been mirrored in real-world use at NY Cancer and Blood—one of the nation’s largest oncology physician groups—where AION TempShield has been utilized on over 2,000 patients with similarly dramatic results.
“Our mission is to deliver the best cancer care at the right time. TempShield helps us do just that by empowering our teams to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations,” says Dr. Jeff Vacirca, Oncologist and CEO of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists.
AION TempShield™ is the blood glucose monitor for cancer care:
- First FDA-cleared wearable designed specifically for oncology patients
- First wearable device deployed for long-term use across chemotherapy patients — used on more cancer patients than any other wearable thermometer
- First medical device distributed by Cencora (formerly Amerisource Bergen)
- First remote monitoring device integrated into Flatiron Health’s OncoEMR — the most widely used oncology-specific EHR in the U.S.
About AION Biosystems
AION Biosystems is a digital health company transforming infection detection in cancer care through AION TempShield™, its FDA-cleared AI-powered wearable and software platform. AION TempShield delivers continuous, long-term temperature monitoring for oncology patients—empowering both patients and clinicians with early warnings before complications escalate. Backed by intelligent algorithms and a cloud-based clinical dashboard, the AION TempShield platform enables proactive, scalable intervention that improves outcomes, supports value-based care, and saves lives.
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Press Contact
Helen Cho, Bonfire Partners
helen@bonfirepartners.io
