Relief in the care system Intelligent plaster for those in need of care recognizes need for help

New care system should provide relief for the caregiver and grant patients more freedom

People in need of care depend on the help of other people, often around the clock. This requires a high time-consuming use of the nursing staff, or the person who takes care of. For the carers, but also for the needy, this situation can lead to stress and enormous mental stress. The research institute IDC of the Wilhelm Löhe University (WLH) developed an idea to relieve the care system. A smart patch is designed to monitor various data of the patient and thus recognize when they need help. The caretaker will be informed immediately and can come to the rescue.

At the moment it is becoming apparent that care services will soon be unable to meet the rapidly growing demand for professional care support. WHL experts fear a serious supply shortage. The care system "moio care" aims to counteract this development. The idea is that carers will be able to identify when a person actually needs help in the future. This saves the caregiver time through constant controls and gives the patient more privacy and mobility. For example, the patch should detect when a patient has to be relocated, if he has fallen or lost his way.

A new care system is intended to provide the needy with more privacy and mobility and to facilitate the caregiver's routine tasks. (Image: Ocskay Bence / fotolia.com)

The care system is overloaded

Nursing statistics from the Federal Statistical Office show that our care system is overloaded and that new solutions must urgently be found. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are 2.6 million people in need of care in Germany and this number is increasing by around 48,000 every year. Many sufferers suffer from dementia. For the year 2019, a number of more than 1.8 million dementias is predicted. More than 10 million across the EU. Should the increase continue as before, the number of demented people will double every 20 years, meaning that by 2050 there will be around 131 million people worldwide.

How can the new plaster help?

A thin and flexible patch is glued to the back of the patient. This contains various sensors, with which the new "TeleCare system" monitors certain values. If a concrete need for action exists, the responsible caregiver is informed immediately. Thus, the patient and caregiver no longer have to be bound together in the immediate vicinity, which on the one hand greatly relieves the nurse's control and routine tasks and on the other grants the patient more mobility, improved privacy, more autonomy and higher protection.

What exactly is being monitored?

In the first stage of development, the patch is to be equipped with a location system that informs caregivers when a caregiver who is, for example, disoriented leaves a defined zone. Thus, dementia patients can move freely in known areas. In addition, the pavement is equipped with acceleration and position sensors, which detect a fall or can estimate the danger of falling. Even before the bedsores of a bedridden person, the patch can protect. It informs the caregiver how long a person has remained motionless in a certain positioning. In addition, the patch applies a caregiver's activity protocol, which helps to better tailor the diet to the patient.

When will the plaster be launched on the market??

The concept of the plaster originating from the WHL is now to be brought to market maturity via the company "MOIO GmbH" founded for this purpose. The company plans to be approved as a medical device in the second half of 2018. Before that, however, the hurdle of financing, for which a crowdfunding campaign is currently underway, has to be taken. There, the company wants to earn 250,000 euros for the upcoming development steps and the preparation for the market launch of the new system.

The project has strong support

"Until now available on the market devices are often unsuitable for people with dementia, because they can go unnoticed unnoticed, lost or lost and also often require conscious actions of the wearer," said Jürgen Besser, CEO of MOIO Gmbh in a press release of Diakonie Neuendettelsau, the initiated and supported the project. With more than 200 institutions and around 7,200 employees, Diakonie is one of the largest diaconal companies in Germany. (Vb)