The Salvation Army Toronto Grace Health Centre (TGHC) is taking centre stage in developing cutting-edge monitoring technology with broad applications in patient safety. In 2015, Matthew Sefati from Curiato and his team approached the TGHC with an innovative idea to support prevention of pressure injuries. Curiato, Inc. (“Company”) is a clinical-stage medical technology company based in Kitchener, Ontario that is developing a real-time skin monitoring and data platform to help make healthcare safer for the patient and more efficient for staff.
(Co-founders in picture on the right with Matthew lying on the smart sheet technology.)
Patients most at risk of pressure injuries are those with a medical condition that limits their ability to change positions, those who spend most of their time in a bed (dementia) or those who have medical conditions that affect blood flow (diabetes). Pressure injuries occur when blood flow is minimized to a part of the body by the pressure of lying in bed immobilized for an extended period of time. The amount of pressure needed to cause an injury varies according to the patient’s age and health.
According to the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) in 2017 the economic cost of treating a single pressure injury ranged from $26,800 to $231,000. Treating pressure injuries can increase nursing care hours by up to 50%. In Canada, one month of care in the community for a pressure injury costs $9,000. Besides placing a substantial financial burden on hospitals, pressure injuries are extremely painful and affect many lives each year. Pressure injuries can lead to impaired quality of life and functioning, amputation or even death. Yet, it still remains a health condition without an accurate and reliable prevention system.
“The original idea,” said Matthew, “stemmed from the fact that the current assessment tools in the area of prevention of pressure injuries utilized by hospitals and healthcare facilities needed to monitor the skin (the largest organ on the human body and first line of defence) much more effectively.” “They’re such an enormous problem,” he continued, “and we knew this was an ideal opportunity on which to focus our efforts. In addition, preventing pressure injuries would make a lasting impact towards supporting nurses, as well as improving patient outcomes. I met with Jake Tran, Executive Director Programs, and Josh Moralejo, Patient Care Manager, Complex Continuing Care, with literally some drawings and a concept to develop our smart bedsheet with the goal of preventing pressure injuries and consequently provide a safer and more efficient healthcare environment.” With a highly regarded reputation for wound care management and recognized as having an excellent wound care program, the TGHC has collaborated with Curiato to support the development of its smart bedsheet technology.
Early in 2018, in conjunction with Curiato, the TGHC submitted a research proposal to advance pressure injury management systems for individuals living with dementia to the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovations (CABHI). CABHI facilitates collaborations among innovators, healthcare providers, private sector partners, government and consumers. Through its funding programs, CABHI helps global innovators gain access to key user groups in order to test, develop, validate and accelerate their solutions in the field of aging and brain health. It was announced in the spring that CABHI awarded the TGHC and Curiato $1 million for the research project and it was approved by the Joint Research Ethics Board (JREB).
The initial meeting three years ago kindled a thriving collaboration that has translated into the TGHC hosting a clinical pilot to evaluate Curiato’s smart bedsheet technology. The TGHC welcomed the research team in December 2018 just before the research project was about to get underway. Approximately 65 to 100 patients, 18 years or older, on three of TGHCs patient care units will be participating in the research study. The study will evaluate a new data collection tool called the Ceylon Surface, a bedding mattress overlay positioned under the bed sheet that collects skin temperature, moisture and pressure measurements, and visually relays that information in the form of insights and visualizations on a device that assists in the prevention of pressure injuries. The TGHC and Curiato are looking to compare how these measurements relate to the current methods the hospital utilizes to identify risk of pressure injuries to bedridden patients during hospitalization. The goal is to advance the patient-centred approach to timely turning and repositioning patients to avoid pressure injuries, and to evaluate the effectiveness of repositioning methods, while obtaining feedback, in real-time 24/7. Ultimately, this will ensure best patient outcomes.
The TGHC along with Curiato is taking a leadership role in pioneering the development of this state-of-the-art technology that uses artificial intelligence to provide analytics (analysis of data) in real time about patients at risk of pressure injury. By shedding current preventive assessment strategies in wound management, the TGHC’s wound care team is fully invested as it looks towards the future and the next phase of this innovative biomedical technology. Preventative wound care strategies, wound care education and advanced technologies are the driving factors that contribute to the TGHC’s continued leadership in excellent wound care management.
By Gerry Condotta
Clinical Trial Team in the picture above.