London's North Middlesex University Hospital Launches First International Study of Palarum's PUP™ Smart Sock
LONDON, November 27, 2018 (Newswire.com) - North Middlesex University Hospital, one of London’s busiest acute care hospitals, will begin a study to evaluate the effectiveness of Palarum’s PUP (The Patient Is UP) smart sock. This is the first international study of the sock. The study will be conducted among patients identified as being at high risk for falls. Russell Nightingale, divisional director of Operations, Surgery and Associated Services for the hospital, will lead the evaluation study.
"As a part of the National Health Service, North Middlesex University Hospital continues to be proactive in addressing patient falls," said Nightingale. "When we learned of Palarum's innovative new PUP smart sock, and we saw a demonstration of the technology behind it, we knew we wanted to pilot its use among a group of our patients who have been identified as being at high risk for falls. We anticipate that the PUP sock technology will not only help us reduce patient falls but also improve the quality of care throughout a patient’s stay at our facility."
We anticipate that the PUP sock technology will not only help us reduce patient falls but also improve the quality of care throughout a patient's stay at our facility.
Russell Nightingale, Divisional Director of Operations, Surgery and Associated Services for North Middlesex University Hospital
The PalarumPUP is a revolutionary patient sock that incorporates patented technology to help prevent patient falls. The sock uses eTextile and IoT technologies to issue real-time alarms to immediately notify nearby nurses that a patient who has been identified as high-risk for falls is out of bed, standing and/or attempting to walk unassisted.
“We are excited to partner with North Middlesex University Hospital and the UK’s National Health Service, to analyze the benefits of the PUP sock,” said Patrick Baker, Palarum’s president and CEO. Baker is the former chief nursing officer of an Ohio acute care hospital and the creator of the PUP sock. “Similar to the United States, fall prevention is a top priority for North Middlesex University Hospital and other hospitals in Britain. Palarum PUP provides a proven, easy-to-use, technologically-advanced approach to preventing falls.”
In addition to potential injury to the patient, falls can be costly, can result in added days of hospitalization and present potential legal liability. Currently, most acute care facilities in Britain use bed, floor, and chair alarms, video monitoring, and patient sitters to address the fall problem. These high-cost interventions have demonstrated less than satisfactory results leaving health care institutions to search for safer, more reliable approaches. The technology behind Palarum’s PUP smart sock appears to provide a revolutionary solution.
The North Middlesex University Hospital evaluation study is expected to span six months with a goal of enrolling 1,000 patients identified as being at high risk for falls.
About Palarum:
Founded in 2014 by the former Chief Nursing Officer of a large community hospital in Lebanon, Ohio, Palarum created the revolutionary PUP™smart sock that incorporates patented technologies woven into conductive fabric, enabling real-time monitoring to prevent patient falls and enhance physical therapy and rehabilitation. PUP, the most technologically advanced, nurse-centric, patient mobility system in healthcare: improves patient safety by greatly reducing injuries from falls;significantly reduces costs related to falls; decreases alarm fatigue through a smart notification system; and generates critical new data to enhance facility operations. PUP is designed for acute care hospitals, as well as facilities for rehabilitation, long-term care, and physical therapy. www.palarum.com.
About North Middlesex University Hospital:
North Middlesex University Hospital is one of London’s busiest acute hospitals, serving more than 350,000 people living in Enfield and Haringey and the surrounding areas, including Barnet and Waltham Forest. Every day, on average, we see 550 patients in A&E; 14 babies are born in our maternity unit; about 450 inpatients are cared for on our wards; about 50 patients have major or minor surgery in one of our 10 operating theatres; and about 800 people attend our outpatients clinics. We provide a full range of adult, elderly and children's services across medical and surgical disciplines. Our specialist services include stroke, HIV/AIDS, cardiology (including heart failure care), haematology, diabetes, sleep studies, fertility and orthopaedics. Our sickle cell and thalassaemia department is nationally recognised as a leading centre for these diseases.
Contact: Palarum--Tom Peck, 214.497.6759; North Middlesex University Hospital -- Georgie Agass, 020.8887.3189
Source: Palarum, LLC
