The Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation has joined with General Electric to create a device for the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers.
By combining various sensing and analytical tools, a team of scientists created a sensing handheld probe that monitors bedsores and their progression. It is currently being tested at the Augusta, Georgia, Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit. The device offers user support features that measure the formation of pressure ulcers and determine if an ulcer is healing.
“The collaboration with General Electric (GE) is another example of the innovative work VA is doing with our private sector colleagues to advance the science of health care for our veterans,” Carolyn Clancy, MD, the VA’s interim under secretary stated in a press release. “We are pleased to work with GE to pilot a technology that holds promise of revolutionizing the protocol for preventing and treating painful bed sores.”
Clancy said the device may prevent the ulcers from forming and advancing with a combination of physical inspection and real-time monitoring.
“Pressure ulcers are a very pervasive, but also preventable condition for hospital patients,” stated Ting Yu, PhD, GE’s principal investigator for the pressure ulcer prevention and care program. “We are now testing this device with VA in a clinical setting to see if it provides the kind of information that will help hospitals reduce and one day eliminate pressure ulcers from developing with patients.”
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Disclosure: Clancy reports no relevant financial disclosures.
