Palarum Announces US Veterans Affairs to Evaluate Use of 'Smart Patient Sock' to Reduce Patient Falls

LEBANON, Ohio, November 16, 2020 (Newswire.com) - ​The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and Palarum, LLC, announced that they have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement Program (CRADA) to evaluate Palarum’s innovative e-wearable technology which is designed to reduce inpatient falls. This project is intended to support on-going VA efforts to improve patient safety and enhance nursing staff efficiencies.

The Palarum PUP (Patient is UP) Fall Prevention System utilizes a specially designed patient smart sock that incorporates patented eTextile and IOT technology that provides real-time monitoring of patient movement. Combined with an enhanced wireless alert system, the PUP socks will immediately detects and notifies the closest staff that a safety event has occurred from a high-risk patient.

“We are focused on providing the best and most advanced healthcare for our Veterans. Falls are particularly important because they are a major cause of preventable injury and disability around the world that disproportionally impacts older adults. As a result, we have been developing innovative ways to prevent falls and the devastating consequences,” said Thomas Osborne MD, Director of the VA National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation, and Chief Medical Informatics Officer at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System.

In 2015, the estimated medical costs attributable to fatal and nonfatal falls in the US was approximately $50 billion.¹ Currently, most acute care hospitals 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.

“As a healthcare professional and retired Lt. Col USAF, I am especially proud to be partnering with the VA Palo Alto Health Care System to demonstrate the benefits of the PUP sock technology and its ability to reduce patient falls thereby increasing the safety of our hospitalized Veterans,” said Patrick Baker, Palarum’s president and CEO.

About Palarum:

Founded in 2014 by the former Chief Nursing Officer of a large community hospital, 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.

Contact:

Palarum: Chris Baker, 617.513.7003, cbaker@palarum.com

Reference:

1.     Florence CS, Bergen G, Atherly A, Burns E, Stevens J, Drake C. Medical costs of fatal and nonfatal falls in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2018 Apr;66(4):693-8. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.15304

Source: Palarum