Pressure ulcer treatment receives MIB from NICE

The SEM Scanner from BBI Europe (BBI), has received a Medtech Innovation Briefing as (MIB) part of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advice.

The SEM Scanner objectively alerts clinicians to specific anatomical areas of a patient’s body at increased risk for developing pressure damage, meaning patient risk assessments are performed before visible damage manifests at the skin surface.

The scanner’s development means there is potential for the NHS to save on the £3.8 million per day in pressure ulcer treatment. There was a 43% increase in pressure ulcer claims from 2014/15 to 2017/18, with the average prevention cost of using the technology working out at £1.50 per patient per day.

The Briefing includes a description of the SEM Scanner technology, how it is used, its potential role in the pressure ulcer care pathway and also includes a review of relevant published evidence and the likely costs of using the technology.

BBI CEO Martin Burns said: “Around 95% of pressure ulcers are preventable. Our singular objective is to reduce pressure injury incidence by helping clinicians make prevention real. Where we have seen our SEM Scanner in use, the results have been dramatic. This briefing will help avoid the need for organisations to produce similar information locally, saving staff time and resources. When you consider that the average prevention cost of using the SEM Scanner works out at just £1.50 per patient per day, we believe that we have game-changer technology available now in the UK.”

The SEM Scanner received European CE Mark approval in 2014, Health Canada clearance in 2016 and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted marketing authorisation in December 2018 under its De Novo review process for novel low-to moderate-risk devices that are not substantially equivalent to an already legally marketed device.

Glenn Smith, nurse prescriber at St Helen’s Medical Centre was contacted by NICE as an expert adviser. Smith was the Tissue Viability and Nutrition Senior CNS/Patient Safety Lead in 2017 when the SEM Scanner was in use at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust.

Smith said: “I am aware that the SEM Scanner has been available in the UK now for a few years and that BBI have been gradually building their clinical evidence – this review from NICE, which is one of the highest health technology assessments in the UK, now supports the fact that the SEM Scanner could be a frontline technology that could transform how we care for patients at risk of pressure ulcers.”

The Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle was the first to deploy the SEM Scanner in a hospice setting, starting with a six-month trial in November 2017 which helped reduce incidences of pressure ulcers by nearly 50%.

The SEM Scanner has received industry awards including the Journal of Wound Care’s Most Innovative Product (2018) and the Health Service Journal’s Partnership Award for Best Innovation in Medical Technology (2018).