News

'It feels great making a product that will save people's lives'

23/10/2013

A device developed by an Irish duo is being used all over the world to prevent bedsores, and has massive potential for future growth.

AS MANY as 60,000 people die each year in the United States as a result of complications caused by bedsores. It's a shocking statistic.  One Irish company which is helping to solve this global problem is Carlow-based VascoCare Medical Limited. Set up in 2009 by founders Michael Lawler and Noel Muldowney, and located in the Enterprise & Research Incubation Centre on the grounds of the Carlow Institute of Technology, VascoCare designs and produces a revolutionary range of pressure care products for use in operating theatres, hospital wards and nursing homes.

These foam-like pads are specially moulded in the shape of a person's head, arm, leg or foot. While soft and comfortable enough to relieve pressure while giving the body part something to rest on, they are also firm enough to help restrict unwanted movement, for example during a lengthy surgical operation.

A small Irish start up, VascoCare Medical has much to be proud of. It already employs six people and its products are sold in 34 countries around the world. Furthermore, turnover looks set to reach €1m within the next 18 months.

However, its real impact has less to do with making money and more to do with helping save lives.

"Bedsores are a huge problem worldwide," explains Noel. "More than one million people each year in the United States develop bedsores. The financial cost to the US Heath Service amounts to more than $1bn," he adds.

Bedsores, or pressure ulcers, develop when a person's weight rests against a hard surface. For example, when a bony body part such as a heel or hip is left pressed against a hard surface such as a bed in an operating theatre; it exerts pressure on the body part, thereby cutting off the flow of blood and oxygen to that area.

Such constant pressure prevents the capillaries or tiny blood vessels, from doing their job of delivering oxygen and nutrients to the skin.

"If the skin is deprived of essential oxygen and nutrients for even as little as an hour, tissue cells begin to die and bedsores begin to form," explains Michael, showing some graphic images of how they begin as red patches and gradually develop into bedsores if not attended to.

Bedsores are common in patients who are elderly or whose mobility is reduced. They do not normally occur in patients who are mobile or conscious because they will tend to move their bodies to relieve such growing pressure.

 

Article from http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/it-feels-great-making-a-product-that-will-save-peoples-lives-29674139.html

Picture by Tony Gavin

For further information on the Institutes Enterprise, Research & Incubation Campus please contact Ailish Delaney, Enterprise Development Manager on t: 059 9175208