Sensory experience
Startup develops bedsheet to prevent bed sores
KITCHENER — A bed sheet outfitted with sensors and a tiny computer, developed by a local startup to prevent bedsores, is expected to be tested this summer at health-care institutions in Waterloo Region and Toronto.
The sheet contains an array of sensors, each one measuring about 1.5 millimetres across, that monitor the pressure on different parts of the patient’s body, the temperature and humidity. The technology is called Ceylon Systems and the Kitchener startup that developed the prototype, Curiato Inc., is working to obtain Health Canada approvals before the tests later this year, said Zied Etleb, a founder and cochief executive officer.
Curiato was founded in 2015 by three University of Waterloo students — Etleb, Moazam Khan, who is the other co-CEO, and Matthew Sefati, the chief business development officer. The trio completed science degrees at UW and wanted to attend medical school, but decided to pursue the startup instead.
Etleb and Khan also did master’s degrees in business entrepreneurship and technology at UW. Their startup is based in the Velocity Garage, part of the university’s startup support program located in the Tannery building.
While working on his undergrad degree, Etleb worked with the faculty of applied health science and the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program to organize the first
health-related hackathon at UW. While preparing for that event, Etleb learned that bedsores are a huge issue in the health-care system. On average, a single bedsore will cost about $45,000 to successfully treat, and it causes a lot of pain for the patient, said Etleb.
“You are spending more time in the hospital getting treated for something that, at the end of the day, is just preventable by just redistributing pressure properly,” said Etleb.
The Ceylon Systems sheet covers the mattress on a hospital bed, and is hooked up to a power source. A patient’s medical history, combined with real-time monitoring of pressure, temperature and humidity, enables caregivers to know when and where a bedsore is likely to occur, and changes in care can be made to prevent it.
Doctors, nurses and family members can monitor a patient’s data from mobile devices.
Bedsores occur when blood flow is blocked to a part of the body by the pressure of lying in bed for an extended time. The amount of pressure needed to cause a bedsore varies according to the patient’s age and health. People with diabetes are at a higher risk. People with advanced dementia who spend most of their time in bed are also at a higher risk.
“So by the time you see it you can not really prevent it anymore, you actually have to start treating that injury,” said Etleb.
While researching bedsores, or pressure wounds as they are formally called, Etleb was surprised by the size of the problem.
“There is buy-in from the patients, the payers and clinicians,” said Etleb. “They want new ways of preventing pressure injuries or bedsores.”