Electric Underwear and Other Innovations

I think humans by nature are innovators, if only to make life easier. Innovative implies improved. Doing things the way you have always done them is tantamount to, If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; often, people may think something is good because they do not know something else is better, despite emerging evidence. Wound, ostomy, and continence care may not capture the imagination or experience the same innovations hoopla making headlines for other clinical sectors, but a seemingly small change to a stoma appliance or accessory, for example, can make a world of difference to millions of patients in terms of quality of life. Innovation is supported by research. Featured sessions at the recent conference, Wound Care: From Innovations to Clinical Trials (WCICT), held this past June in Manchester, UK, addressed simple, cost-effective imaging systems for wound photography to ensure shared and stored images accurately capture the “hole” picture; dressing technologies that utilize existing but never-before-combined components designed to expedite healing (eg, silver, polyhexamethylene biguanide, and iodine); agents and therapies traditionally prescribed in other capacities (eg, aminaphtone, a naphtohydrochinone commonly used in the treatment of capillary disorders, to enhance healing of recurrent ulcers; cold atmospheric plasma devices to treat wound infection; seaweed; and electromagnetic therapy); and improvements for nonwound specialists on preventing, detecting, and monitoring wounds and healing with something called the Wound Wheel.

WCICT is not the only event to present the latest innovations in the wound care arena. The 4th Annual Innovations in Wound Healing conference, scheduled to convene in December 2017, aims to communicate evolving approaches to tissue repair and includes sessions on energy-based technologies, bioengineering, and telehealth. Although innovation is not in its title, the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care, presented in the spring and fall of every year and sponsored by our parent company HMP Communications, LLC, innovatively helps clinicians facilitate the transition of the latest research to the bedside. Coincidentally, many of the organizers and speakers at all 3 of these events are OWM editorial board members, all innovators in their own right.

According to their descriptions in referralMD’s 2016 health care technology report, 2 innovations in particular have direct application in the wound, ostomy, continence sector.

Indigo-Clean (Kenosha, WI), has designed a technology that uses visible light to continuously disinfect the environment and enhance infection prevention, not unlike the premise on which Florence Nightingale’s “sunshine therapy” was based. Light (405 nm) emitted from a ceiling fixture reflects off walls and surfaces, penetrating harmful microorganisms by targeting naturally occurring molecules (porphyrins) inside bacteria. The light is absorbed and the excited molecules produce reactive oxygen species inside the cell, creating a chemical reaction similar to the effects of bleach that inactivates the bacteria, preventing repopulation.

When patients are chronically immobile, lack of circulation and compressed skin can lead to painful, open wounds such as pressure ulcers. Electric underpants, developed by a Canadian researcher, activate muscles and increase circulation by delivering a small electrical charge every 10 minutes (the effect is the same as if the patient was moving on his/her own).

The July issue of OWM is our annual salute to ingenuity, whether it involves changing the bioactivity of a wound with a combination dressing, giving Grandma a little jolt to flex her sacral muscles, or rediscovering the capabilities of substances such as silver or honey. The Simon Foundation for Continence weighs in, offering information on products in or coming to the pipeline to help patients and providers mange the effects of incontinence. Two articles describe innovative approaches to care using technology: ultrasound for differential diagnoses of neonatal and pediatric superficial soft tissue infection and far-infrared therapy for the treatment of thromboagiitis obliterans. A case study supports clinician creativity, in this scenario diagnosing a rare skin ailment (cutaneous tuberculosis). Results of a survey conducted in Egypt among patients with stoma imply innovations in education would be beneficial to quality of life.

These events and discoveries and (yes) innovations underscore the flurry of excitement that should inspire practitioners to shift out of their comfort zones and see for themselves if any of these new ideas is worthwhile … or maybe attempt to try something even slightly new. Articles on health care innovation often speak to the obstacles that thwart implementing the effect of the creative spark — silos and regulatory roadblocks and always costs. None mentions word one about the effects of dampening the human spirit. We say, Use the evidence available to do something you haven’t yet done. Innovate. 

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.