Pressure Injuries Are A Major Public Health Problem
Pressure injuries (also known as bed sores, pressure sores or decubitus ulcers) are a major public health problem, affecting 2.5 million Americans, leading to 61,000 deaths annually. Pressure injuries (PrI) are disfiguring and painful, and can take many months of labor-intensive care to heal.
Pressure Injuries cost healthcare providers $26.8 Billion per year and are the second most litigated injuries in the country, costing healthcare providers another $4.3 billion per year.
Pressure injuries are a life-long threat to the 400,000 Americans (45,000 veterans) with spinal cord injuries. The incidence of pressure injuries in adults with SCI is 25-35% and have recurrence rates as high as 80%. Similarly, pressure injuries are endemic among the 5.5-million Americans that are bed bound due to conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsies, ALS, and while recovering from illnesses and other chronic conditons.
Current solutions rely on pressure redistribution mattresses, which require strenuous patient repositioning every two hours by staff and caregivers, leading to high hospital labor costs and significant risk of additional injury to the patient as well as injury to the caregiver.
The LeviSense Solution
The LeviSense SensorCell™: The Foundation for Performance
LeviSense is developing a suite of smart medical surfaces to minimize the incidence of pressure sores and help caregivers treat them, if/when they occur. The technology is conceived for acute, post-acute, and home care applications and is based on sound science and engineering, with a unique approach to solving a tough problem.
The performance of Vertical Support is built on a foundation of the LeviSense SensorCell™. Compared to the active air mattresses available today, a LeviSense support surface has over 20 times the number of individual supporting cells. The pressure in each SensorCell is programmed to control the surface of the bed to provide unmatched comfort and protection from excessive pressure.
Vertical Support Performance – High-Resolution, Depth, Accuracy and Speed
High Resolution
Proper adjustment of the bed and bedding for a patient with limited mobility is particularly important as they cannot easily reposition themselves for comfort. Comfortable rest is essential for the patient and the caregiver cannot afford frequent nurse calls. The ProDaptive™ Surface has the highest resolution of surface adjustment available.
Just like a picture, the higher the resolution, the better the surface can respond to adjustment and adaptation to shapes and deliver superior envelopment. Envelopment refers to the ability of the mattress to conform to the shape of the body as is immerses. Higher envelopment is characterized by lower, more uniform weight distribution with better surface contact.
Depth of Immersion
The SensorCells allow for the deepest immersion of any mattress. Immersion is the distance one penetrates the support surface. The greater the immersion, the better a surface can distribute body weight by allowing a user to sink into the mattress and produce more surface area.
Accuracy and Range of Adjustment
The supporting pressure in a SensorCell™ can be adjusted in a wide range of pressures – from 75 mmHg to 0 mmHg – and anywhere in between by 2 mmHg increments. What does that mean to the patient or nurse?
- 75 mmHg is firm enough to facilitate transfers in and out of the bed, greatly reduce the effort requires to reposition a patient and even firm enough for CPR.
- At 0 mmHg the cells, when depressed will not push back up, thus creating a cavity to offload a wound, create a void to cradle a painful area, or float the feet and heels. NO MORE BOOTS!
- At pressures of 15 mmHg to 32 mmHg, the patient can find a mattress firmness that is suited to their preference for rest and healing.
Immediate Response to Adjustment
The Vertical Support of the ProDaptive™ surface adjustments are virtually instantaneous. The patient can feel the adjustments the moment the caregiver makes them.
From uninflated to Mobility Mode (75 mmHg), it takes less than 30-seconds, and from Mobility Mode to a Comfort Mode (26 mmHg) it takes 15-seconds. That means a patient can be repositioned in as little as one minute!
Ease of Use
The control panel at the end of the bed has a one screen intuitive user interface. There are just five control buttons and the image on the screen displays the pressure in the SensorCells™ in real time.
Once a patient’s preferred settings are selected, the settings are memorized. There is a simplified panel for the patient’s use.