Valley View Residence is rolling out Lenexa Medical’s breakthrough pressure injury prevention technology at its 64-bed residential aged care facility in Colley, Western Australia.

LenexaCARE is a pressure injury management system that assists clinicians and carers by providing targeted real-time monitoring for patient position, enabling personalised pressure injury prevention.

It uses a high-tech fabric-based sensor array that can be fitted into any mattress and provide real time monitoring of a person’s position, allied to smart software that can also detect and monitor for pressure injury risk.

The device also aids staff in repositioning residents and in planning turn schedules, and when required it can alert carers nearby or at a remote station.

The technology has been trialled in the hospital setting but is now being rolled out to aged care. It is approved by the TGA in Australia and was recently approved for sale in New Zealand.

According to Lenexa Medical, initial results from pilots have shown residents using LenexaCARE are spending up to 67 per cent less time in an at-risk position. Research published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies last year shows that pressure injuries in hospitals alone costs the Australian health system over $9 billion annually.

The technology was developed in Australia and is TGA-approved, and was recently approved for sale in New Zealand.

Valley View CEO Mark Sheldon-Stemm said many residents experienced immobility due to disability or age-related issues.

“The LenexaCARE technology will now support residents and staff with around the clock monitoring and provide our carers with resident-specific insights and increased visibility of resident risk at any given time,” he said.

Lenexa Medical CEO and co-founder Ajit Ravindran said the technology aids in the avoidance of painful pressure injuries and also takes the weight off carers bearing the load in an overburdened health system.

“The Lenexa system also provides carers with patient specific information to assist with individualised care and seamlessly integrates into existing nurse call systems,” he said.