Leaf Healthcare's patient monitoring system has been named one of the world's most innovative wearable healthcare technologies for 2016.
An international jury of the WT Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup selected Leaf Healthcare for recognition from among more than 450 wearable solutions.
Leaf now competes with four other wearable healthcare finalists for the title of Most Innovative Healthcare Wearable Technology of 2016. The companies will present at the 19th WT Wearable Technologies Conference in Munich on January 26, 2016.
"This year's WT Innovation World Cup was inspiring with more than 450 impressive nominations from 60 countries," said Andrea Onetti, general manager of volume MEMS and analog division, STMicroelectronics. "Browsing through the innovative ideas and seeing how creative human minds can be is, for us at ST, a great way to see the future of wearable Smart Things."
The benefits of improved patient mobility are well recognized and include accelerated recovery times, fewer medical complications and shortened hospital stays.
The first application of the Leaf patient monitoring system focused on the prevention of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, a leading threat to quality healthcare, by monitoring patient movements to ensure they are repositioned according to their prescribed turning schedules to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers.
"Leaf is committed to helping hospitalized patients and their caregivers benefit from the power of wearable technology," said Barrett Larson, co-founder and chief executive officer of Leaf.
"This international recognition confirms that the Leaf patient monitoring system provides an innovative solution to an important clinical need. Our technology enables clinicians to make sure that patients move adequately in order to prevent complications associated with immobility."
The Leaf system is comprised of a small, lightweight, wearable sensor that electronically monitors a patient's position and movements. Data collected by the sensor is communicated wirelessly to central monitoring stations or mobile devices so that caregivers can check on patient position and movement.
When used to prevent pressure ulcers, the system provides alerts when necessary to ensure that all patients wearing a Leaf sensor are repositioned according to their prescribed turning schedules. The device has been cleared for sale by FDA 510(k).
Leaf Healthcare, Patient Monitoring System, US, WT Wearable Technologies Innovation World Cup