BBI has won the Frost & Sullivan European New Product Innovation Award for Pressure Ulcer Diagnostics for the SEM Scanner, a revolutionary hand-held device for detecting early pressure ulcers.
The SEM Scanner was developed by synthesising advanced engineering principles with the practical needs of nurses
BBI was independently evaluated by Frost & Sullivan's global team of analysts and consultants using its 360-Degree research methodology.
“The SEM Scanner was selected for the award for providing a unique solution to a large and urgent unmet need,” said Sowmya Rajagopalan, research manager for transformational health and advanced medical technologies at Frost & Sullivan.
The product received high scores for reliability, quality, design, customer experience, and value.”
Dr Barbara Bates-Jensen, a professor of nursing and medicine at the UCLA School of Nursing and David Geffen School of Medicine, who was involved in the SEM Scanner’s initial design, added: “The SEM Scanner is the first practical device to reveal pressure-induced tissue damage happening beneath the skin’s surface before visual signs of damage or skin ulceration occur. It does this by using advanced biometric sensors that measure sub-epidermal moisture.
“The technology has the potential to change the way we prevent skin damage by detecting damage so much earlier than existing practices. And nurses at the bedside can use it with accuracy. These characteristics make the SEM Scanner a powerful and realistic tool for prevention of pressure ulcers.”
In announcing the award, Frost & Sullivan noted that ‘this revolutionary device has been found to accurately identify local tissue edema related to inflammatory changes that occur up to 10 days before damage is visible on the skin’s surface’. By detecting pressure ulcers early, clinicians can take preventive action before skin ulceration.
Frost & Sullivan examined the SEM Scanner’s performance in the UK, where BBI launched the device in 2014 after achieving CE Mark approval.
“Tremendous support for the adoption of the SEM Scanner has arisen, particularly from nurses and tissue viability nurses who see this scanner as a game changer in the diagnosis of pressure ulcers,” said Rajagopalan.
The SEM Scanner was selected for the award for providing a unique solution to a large and urgent unmet need
In the UK, NHS acute care hospital wards utilising the SEM Scanner reduced pressure ulcer occurrence to zero and recorded savings of £50,000 a month as part of BBI’s Pressure Ulcer Reduction Programme, according to findings reported in The Nursing Times.
“Innovation is BBI’s key to success and the company consistently ensures maximum return on investment to its customers by improving workflows and enhancing the quality of care for patients,” said Rajagopalan.
BBI chief executive, Martin Burns, added: “We're honoured to receive this prestigious award from Frost & Sullivan. BBI is driven by innovation and motivated by the impact we are having on patients.
“We have been able to shorten the innovation timeline and incorporate nurse and patient needs early in the development cycle by leveraging an interdisciplinary approach and partnership with UCLA and the Wireless Health Institute.”
And Dr William Kaiser, a professor of electrical engineering at UCLA and co-director of the UCLA Wireless Health Institute, said: “The SEM Scanner was developed by synthesising advanced engineering principles with the practical needs of nurses.
“The device actually traces its roots to the NASA space programme. The concept of sensors that make the invisible visible began with the development of seismometers for the Mars Exploration Rover landing craft that can help scientists envision the planet’s interior structure by detecting seismic waves generated by deep earthquakes. The Wireless Health Institute adapted that concept and worked with Dr Bates-Jensen to apply it to the needs of nurses, so that they can visualise unseen inflammation and treat it early to prevent pressure ulcers from developing.”
BBI is now working with the FDA to make the SEM Scanner available in the US market in 2016.
