Wound care is an ever-increasing burden on the healthcare system, but WoundVision, an Indianapolis-based company, is looking to change this situation. The company is working to provide solutions that allow healthcare providers to predict and track deep tissue injury, pressure ulcers, and other wounds by using personalized patient health data and infrared thermal imaging.
WoundVision, a spinoff of EHOB, is looking to soon market a noninvasive, noncontacting imaging system that gives clinicians the ability to assess wounds not visible to the naked eye. Dr. James Spahn, the company's co-founder, chair and CMO, told FierceMedicalDevices that the tech isn't supposed to replace the clinician, but give him or her the data to monitor patients and make the correct treatment decision.
The imager works by detecting changes in thermal energy the body puts off. If an area is hotter than normal, it could indicate inflammation; if it's too cold, it could mean the potential for cell damage or necrosis. Using the imager, the doctor could be able to detect these conditions early, preventing further damage.
WoundVision already has software that allows for patient assessment, giving doctors the ability to detect and calculate the risk of pressure ulcers. But it offers an additional bonus: It permits the clinician the ability to assess a patient's risk for other wounds, falls, incontinence, infection and deep vein thrombosis.
Spahn said the exact amount of savings his technology provides is hard to determine, but is probably substantial. In fact, one incident--a pressure ulcer, deep vein thrombosis or hospital-acquired infection--could cost roughly $208,000. Thus, being able to predict and potentially prevent these incidents is in the interest of the hospital or other facility.
- check out more from WoundVision's site