A new mattress developed by a spinoff company of Swiss institutes Empa and the ETH Zurich can gently turn a patient so as to prevent decubitus ulcers and help nurses avoid doing this difficult, and often unpleasant, task.
Compliant Concept, the company that’s commercializing the bed, has been testing it in clinics and hospitals and expects it to be available in Switzerland by the end of the year.
The innovative new bed imitates the movements of a healthy person during sleep, thereby preventing bedridden patients from developing bedsores (also known as decubitus ulcers). This also relieves medical staff of the necessity of gently and frequently turning patients in the bed – this is done by a special mattress which lies on a joint-less but flexible slatted frame made of “smart” materials whose properties can be modified as required.
The new system was developed by a team led by Michael Sauter, who two years ago founded a start-up company named «compliant concept». Supported by both Empa and the ETH Zürich, the spin-off enterprise currently boasts four employees (soon to be six) and is located in the glaTec technology center at Empa’s Duebendorf site. “We are of course very pleased that we have found investors and industrial partners for the company,” says Sauter. By the end of this year the first products, manufactured by an industrial partner, will be available on the Swiss market.
Press release: Intelligent bed on the way to the marketplace…
(hat tip: CNet)