Enhancing Standard of Care in Wound With the geko™ Device

08 Jun Enhancing Standard of Care in Wound With the geko™ Device

Around 3.8 million people in the UK alone suffer from wounds though, this number is likely to be higher now since COVID-19, which left many patients to self-manage their wounds without regular support from healthcare professionals.

Leg ulcers are one of the most common forms of chronic wound with venous leg ulcers (VLUs) making up approximately 80% of all leg ulcer cases. VLUs are typically caused by issues with blood circulation, such as chronic venous insufficiency, and often cause patients a lot of pain, discomfort and embarrassment. VLUs are also a significant financial burden to the NHS, costing a staggering £8.3 billion per year – £5.6 billion of which is spent on the management of wounds that are hard-to-heal.

Embracing Innovation

Standard of care to treat venous leg ulcers recommends compression therapy, however, compression bandaging can be extremely uncomfortable and cumbersome, impacting patients’ ability to adequately adhere. Some, due to the nature of their pain, are unable to initially be prescribed compression therapy at all, receiving only light bandaging – insufficient to promote healing. Moreover, current treatments to manage hard-to-heal VLUs, which can extend from many months to many years, rely on a mixture of hospital, clinic, and most often, home visits, which are labour intensive for wound care nurses – and for family members and patients to share-the-care.

Innovations in MedTech are driving hope for patients and healthcare systems and have the ability to create a healthier and more productive population. Utilising wearable innovation, like the geko™ device, can play a crucial role in helping to achieve this.

Results from our recent randomised self-controlled trial (RCT) demonstrate geko™ device efficacy in accelerating the rate of VLU healing by more than double when used alongside standard of care (multi-layer compression), versus standard of care alone.

Future of Healthcare

Embracing solutions that accelerate wound healing, will help healthcare professionals save considerable time, money and resources – especially where home visits can be reduced and community nurse time refocused. In addition, patients can spend less time immobile, uncomfortable, and unwell and feel more like themselves again.

Gain further insights on enhancing standard of care with MedTech, by reading the full article, by Bernard Ross, published by Med-Tech Innovation News here.