Raising the standard of wound care with innovative medical technology

Bernard Ross, CEO of Sky Medical Technology, Explores the role of medtech in mitigating the challenges in wound care to deliver healthcare and ultimately drive a healthier and more productive population.

According to 2017-18 research, around 3.8 million people suffer from wounds in the UK alone. Following the lockdown and closure of health services during Covid, which left many patients self-managing their wounds without regular assistance from health professionals, this number is now likely to be higher. It is not helped by the nature of some wounds, which can be very difficult to heal, with some patients suffering from their wounds for decades with little or no signs of healing.

Leg ulcers are among the most common forms of chronic wounds. Venous leg ulcers (VLU) in particular are the most prevalent type of leg ulcer, accounting for approximately 80% of all cases. VLUs are chronic skin ulcers that affect the gaiter area. They are caused by damaged or blocked veins in the legs, either due to trauma, deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins, or edema, limiting and preventing blood flow to the heart. This triggers a build-up of blood in the lower leg which leads to edema and ulceration.

Overburdened Patients and the Health System

Wounds such as venous leg ulcers (VLUs) disproportionately affect older generations, so as the population ages, so does the burden of caring for wound patients. The annual cost to the NHS at the macro level is £8.3 billion, of which £5.6 billion is the management of non-healing wounds. VLUs represent over £2 billion of this annual cost and affect one in 500 people.

Behind these statistics, however, lie thousands of individual tragedies: injured patients living in discomfort and constant pain; people are unable to work because of their wounds; The burden of the situation and feelings of shame and embarrassment lead individuals to lead less active lives.

increased need for ongoing care

Treatment of wounds is labor intensive and complex. It relies on a mix of visits to hospitals or clinics or home visits from nurses, which adds complexity to the delivery of wound care. Venous leg ulcer patients will be prescribed compression therapy as the standard of care to increase microcirculatory blood flow. This usually involves a medically prescribed compression bandage or stockings.

Compression therapy comes in a variety of forms, including four-layer, two-layer, hosiery kits, and wraps, depending on the level of compression needed for optimal VLU healing, as well as patients’ preferences. However, compression therapy can be extremely uncomfortable, affecting their ability to adequately comply – and for some, due to the nature of their pain, they are initially unable to be prescribed compression therapy, let alone light bandages. Tie.

Innovation Driving Life-Changing Solutions

Innovations in medical technology are increasing the delivery of treatments in all areas of healthcare. Medtech has the potential to transform how common but debilitating conditions are addressed to help drive a healthier and more productive population. Deploying MedTech solutions such as neuromuscular electrostimulation (NMES) devices has significant benefits. Patients can increase blood flow and when used in conjunction with multi-layer compression, significantly increase the rate of healing of VLUs.

The medtech could also speed up the healing rate of hard-to-heal VLUs, and as a result, people need treatment for a shorter amount of time, and wounds heal faster – theoretically – reducing the chance for infection. We do. Combined, this means nurses and wound clinics can heal more people in less time and – best of all, patients spend less time immobile, uncomfortable and unwell – which is better for their physical and mental health. Is. It also has the added benefit of contributing to the saved healthcare costs.

investing in a healthy future

With the number of people out of work due to illness at a record high of 2.5 million, it is important to help drive additional economic productivity and ensure that the health care system can address the medical, complex but non- There is a need to embrace more innovation in addressing life-threatening medical issues. issues in meaningful and cost-effective ways.

Thanks to the time and dedication of Clinical Champions, more innovations are being adopted in health care systems that improve patient outcomes and enhance health care delivery, usually with cost-saving benefits. MedTech’s use of NMES tools such as this is a great example of how innovation can be successful.