Bioelectronics: the changing face of healthcare
Bernard Ross, CEO and founder of Sky Medical Technology, discusses how bioelectronic medical devices are having a positive impact on patient care and reducing the burden on the wider healthcare system.
Every 37 seconds someone in the western world dies from a venous thromboembolism (VTE). Around 55 – 60% of all VTE cases occur during or following hospitalisation; resulting in approximately 40,000 deaths in England each year. Research also shows that 30% of people who have suffered a VTE will develop further health problems within the next ten years. Patients experiencing illnesses such as a stroke have a significant increase in the risk of hospital-acquired thrombosis due to reduced mobility throughout the recuperation period. In fact, 62% of VTE related deaths are deemed preventable given the proper treatment.
Despite this, VTE is often overlooked as a major health problem. With NHS services operating with finite funding and nursing resource, there has been very little technological innovation in mechanical VTE prophylaxis, especially for those where traditional compression stockings and intermittent pneumatic compression devices are contraindicated or impractical.
However, bioelectronic medicine is changing the face of modern healthcare. Wearable bioelectronic medical devices have now been utilised in a number of NHS clinical trials and been shown to increase blood flow and reduce VTE in high-risk patients. Until now, pharmaceutical treatments are commonly used to achieve these types of results for chronic circulatory conditions. However, new drug development is extensive, costly and rarely achieves the desired results. Instead of targeting the body’s cells, the bioelectronic approach harnesses the body’s surface to create a new level of medical precision; targeting specific nerves and stimulating certain actions within the body. Innovative device-based treatments have therefore proven extremely beneficial, as patients suffering from chronic circulatory conditions, cardiovascular diseases and post-surgical complications are provided with an efficient and effective treatment pathway.
Technological advancements have seen an increase in the use of bioelectronic wearable therapies. One example is the geko: the size of a wristwatch and worn at the knee, it gently stimulates the common peroneal nerve, activating the calf and foot muscle pumps and resulting in increased blood flow in the deep veins of the calf at rate equal to 60% of walking. It requires no external compression of the leg and enables patients to be mobile while wearing the device. The geko is the first bioelectronic device of its kind to receive both NICE and FDA clearance and is trailblazing care pathway transformation for patients all over the world.
Bioelectronic medicine is one of the fastest growing areas in healthcare. The medical devices market is predicted to be worth more than $6 billion in 2020, growing rapidly to $8.5 billion by 2025. By treating conditions where there is currently an unmet need, wearable bioelectronic medicine like the geko device benefit 44 million patients worldwide today. As technology continues to evolve, bioelectronic devices could eventually be used to treat all acute and chronic circulatory conditions – improving the lives of more than 200 million patients and reducing the strain on health services with finite resources.