UK-based healthcare equipment provider Innova Care Concepts has added a key evolution to its bariatric care bed, the Interlude 500.
The company will now incorporate the VersaDrive, a motorised assist system designed to add functionality and help caregivers move bariatric patients easily.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
It will be integrated at the foot of the bed, featuring a motorised wheel that uses sensors to detect the intended direction of the bed when moving. The device uses intuitive automation to automatically adjust the bed in the right direction to reduce strain and to enable caregivers to be in constant visual contact with the patient.
The new technology will make transport through the hospital much smoother and safer for the patient. It will allow the bed to be moved effectively and quickly, which will be particularly useful if a patient requires urgent intervention.
Launched in 2021, the bariatric bed is manufactured by Canadian technology company Rotec International and distributed as the Interlude 500 by Innova.
The VersaDrive technology will be added to newly manufactured beds.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataInnova’s senior product consultant Dan Devenish spoke to Medical Device Network about the product and how it will aid the bariatric sector: “There has been a lot more exposure in the last couple of years from the government and other bodies about the need for care for bariatric patients.
“Previously, technology has not been available for these patients, whereas now technology is evolving for them. For example, the 21cm that the bed lowers to. Every bariatric patient will tell you that every centimetre counts. This type of technology wasn’t previously available but is now helping to evolve the market.”
The care and supervision needs of obese patients are unique and different to non-obese patients. For example, lifting the patient’s legs into a bed will sometimes require two nurses and the low stature of the bed helps to protect the nurses from musculoskeletal injury.
The obesity crisis is a major health challenge. Recent research revealed that obesity was a factor in over one million hospital admissions in 2019-2020 in England, a 17% increase from the previous year. It is predicted that over a third of UK patients will be considered obese by 2025.
According to a report by GlobalData, the obesity market size across the 7MM (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, Japan) was valued at $2.43bn in 2021 and is expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 31% during 2021-2031.
