Overview

Wound management stands as a substantial challenge within the UK healthcare system. In 2017/2018 alone, the NHS managed approximately 3.8 million patients with wounds, translating into extensive resource utilisation. District/community nurse visits numbered at 54.4 million, while healthcare assistant visits reached 53.6 million and practice nurse visits hit 28.1 million annually. The NHS bore an annual cost of £8.3 billion for wound management, with £2.7 billion allocated to managing healed wounds and £5.6 billion to unhealed wounds. Notably, the community accounted for 81% of the total annual cost. In Wales, the Welsh Wound Innovation Centre's 2017 publication estimated the annual cost of treating wounds at £330 million, constituting 6% of the yearly NHS budget.

This escalating demand for wound care necessitates effective management strategies. Timely and precise assessment, appropriate treatment selection, and consistent monitoring and reassessment play pivotal roles in facilitating swift and efficient wound healing. Such meticulous care minimises the risk of complications, curtails the necessity for further interventions, and mitigates prolonged hospital stays, consequently reducing the strain on healthcare resources.

Moreover, beyond alleviating the healthcare burden, effective wound management significantly enhances patient outcomes. Proper wound care not only expedites the healing process but also alleviates discomfort and pain for patients, particularly those coping with chronic wounds. This improvement in their condition fosters greater engagement in daily activities and bolsters their capacity for independent living.

Recognising the substantial impact of wounds on both healthcare systems and patient well-being underscores the urgency for efficient wound management strategies that optimise resources, enhance patient experiences, and diminish overall burdens on the healthcare infrastructure. 

Market Insight 

According to research from Allied Market Research, the global digital wound measurement devices market size was valued at $401.0 million in 2020 and is projected to reach $623.01 million by 2030 registering a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2030.  

Major players in the market include the following: 

Spectral MD, a medical technology company, is a leader in AI-powered predictive analytics solutions for managing chronic wounds, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with a UK facility in London. Their premier product, DeepView, is a non-invasive, handheld device employing multispectral imaging to evaluate tissue health. It assesses the healing potential of chronic wounds, predicts complication risks, and informs treatment decisions. DeepView captures wound images at various light wavelengths, analysed by an AI algorithm to identify patterns linked to healing. The device, demonstrated through the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Clinical Study, exhibited 86% diagnostics accuracy, 89% sensitivity, and 83% specificity in 2022. Spectral MD earned the European Mediscience Award for Best Technology that year, acknowledging its innovative DeepView wound imaging technology.

IslaCare develops the Isla platform, which enables clinicians and patients to capture, store, and share images and videos related to their medical conditions. The platform adheres to NHS guidelines for secure image transfer and allows clinicians to track the progression of a patient's condition over time. Isla can be used across various medical specialties, including tissue viability, podiatry, stroke, speech and language, therapies, neurology, and sexual health. Dermatology at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust have the need to be able to simply and securely capture and remotely request high quality photos, videos and digital outcome measures (PROMS) from patients; which is then seamlessly stored against the patient’s record and can be shared with other clinical teams where clinically required. As part of the shift towards working remotely, clinicians are able to avoid unnecessary face-to-face appointments and automate their workflows to support ongoing monitoring, thus building up a rich dataset of patient media which empowers real time and proactive clinical decision-making.

Mimosa Diagnostics, a Canadian medical technology company, specialises in developing and promoting handheld imaging devices for early detection and prevention of chronic diseases. Their flagship product, MIMOSA Pro, is a non-invasive, portable device using near-infrared light to assess tissue health. Specifically designed for healthcare professionals, it aids in detecting and monitoring chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, pressure sores, and venous leg ulcers. By emitting near-infrared light through the skin, MIMOSA Pro measures reflected light, creating a map of tissue oxygen saturation. Portable and versatile, it's suitable for use in hospitals, clinics, and home healthcare settings.

Swift Medical, a Toronto-based company that develops and markets mobile wound care management software. The company's flagship product, Swift Skin & Wound, is a cloud-based software platform that allows clinicians to capture, track, and manage wound data. Swift Skin & Wound is used by over 4,000 healthcare facilities in over 20 countries. Swift Skin & Wound is a cloud-based software platform that helps healthcare professionals to manage wound care. The platform includes a mobile app that allows clinicians to capture wound data at the point of care, as well as a web-based dashboard that provides clinicians with a comprehensive view of their wound care population.

Healthy.io is a health technology company with bases in London, Boston, and Tel Aviv. Their 'Minuteful for Wound' is a user-friendly, smartphone-based digital wound management system using artificial intelligence (AI). Clinicians capture wound photos with their smartphones, and the app employs AI to measure size, depth, identify infections, and document wound details. The system seamlessly integrates into existing clinical workflows, aiding in assessing, tracking, and healing chronic wounds. Minuteful for Wound's AI capabilities enable progress tracking and identification of patients at risk or unresponsive to treatment. Supported by Real World Evidence (RWE) and Health Technology Wales (HTW) Topic Evaluation Report, it facilitates effective communication among patients and healthcare providers.

AITIS provides AI-enabled risk assessment technology solutions for different industries. AITIS provides AI-enabled clinical decision-making technology solutions. Two leading Singapore hospitals use AITIS AI-enabled clinical validation of wounds. Aims are to provide better wound patient care and reduce the economic burden.

Adiuvo Diagnostics Pvt Ltd is an Indian-based medical diagnostic device company specialising in healthcare devices. Their product, Illuminate, is an AI-driven, rapid, and non-invasive hyperspectral imaging device designed for point-of-care monitoring of skin and soft tissue infections. It swiftly detects pathogens on wounds within 2 minutes, using multi-wavelength fluorescence spectroscopy. Illuminate tracks wound progression by measuring length, width, and area, employing an AI algorithm for pathogen detection and gram-type classification of bacteria and fungi. The device generates color-coded images in a report, providing the spatial location of pathogens on wounds. Connected to cloud storage, it allows users to synchronise their data seamlessly.

eKare Inc is a United States-based Software as a Service (SaaS) healthcare company specialising in wound imaging, documentation, and analytics. Their Insight 3D Wound Imaging and Analytics System offers rapid and precise 3D wound measurement, including depth and volume, at the point of care. This intuitive mobile platform uses computer vision, 3D sensing technology, and machine intelligence. The system analyses wound tissue composition through machine learning, automatically detects and delineates wound borders for quick measurement, and provides real-time overviews for informed decisions. HIPAA compliant, it ensures secure data sharing and analysis on a common platform, streamlining wound management processes.

KroniKare Pte Ltd, based in Central Singapore, is a medical technology manufacturer. Their KroniKare Wound Scanner, a portable multi-spectral device, excels in digital wound measurement. Leveraging KroniKare technology, it provides automated, precise assessments of chronic wounds with management suggestions. This clinically validated tool performs a rapid three-dimensional wound measurement and seven-tissue type analysis in just 30 seconds, thanks to artificial intelligence. Highly scalable, it empowers junior nurses, monitors healing time, and enhances recovery while preventing complications. The integrated dashboard, cloud technology, and AI server offer automatic size measurement, tissue analysis, complication detection, and preventive care for flat, curved, and circumferential wounds, using UV, visible light, and thermal images.

Advanced Planimetric Services offers the PictZar Digital Planimetry Software Application, a dedicated digital wound measurement tool for wound care management. This computer software application employs a noncontact method to measure and document the progression of external wounds. It provides comprehensive data, including Length, Width, Area, Circumference, user-added Depth, Estimated Volume, and incorporates four-color areas with associated depths. The software also facilitates PUSH Tool conversion and generates graphs based on the Braden Scale of the wounds. PictZar stands as a valuable solution for healthcare professionals seeking precise and efficient wound measurement and monitoring capabilities.

ARANZ Medical Ltd, based in Christchurch, New Zealand, is a leading provider of medical solutions, specialising in transformative 3D scanning applications for orthotics, prosthetics, and wound care. Their Silhouette wound measurement and documentation system captures and documents the progression of external wounds over time. Consisting of a silhouette camera connected to a PDA running the Silhouette mobile software application, it allows for precise measurements and documentation. Integrated with existing EMR systems, it generates comprehensive progress notes, one-click PDF assessment reports, and supports telehealth assessments. The Silhouette Server facilitates secure data transfer to patient information databases, ensuring instant availability in electronic medical records. In the UK, ARANZ Medical's products are marketed under Entec Health, serving multiple NHS trusts.

WoundVision is a pioneering medical device company specialising in advanced wound imaging technology. As the industry's exclusive full-service provider of wound imaging and documentation solutions, WoundVision aims to standardize wound assessment, minimize documentation errors, and enhance patient experiences across care settings. The WoundVision Scout, a non-invasive digital and long-wave infrared camera, facilitates precise wound measurement by capturing thermal images. It measures thermal intensity, diameter, surface area, and perimeter of body parts. The captured data is transmitted to a PC, aiding clinicians in visual and infrared image documentation for seamless integration into electronic medical records. Suitable for patients 18 and older, it finds applications in various healthcare settings, including hospitals, surgery, and home healthcare.

Other key companies include:

Rokit Healthcare is a global healthcare company focused on autologous organ regeneration using proprietary biofabrication technologies. With expertise in 4D bioprinting, autologous stem cell technologies, and human-derived biomaterials, Rokit is at the forefront of regenerative medicine. Their revolutionary digital wound management app, Aid Measure, automatically gauges wound dimensions—width, height, and depth—from a single photo. Rokit Healthcare aims to transform how we approach and maintain our health through innovative organ regeneration platforms across various diseases.

WoundMatrix is a medical device company which markets a comprehensive wound management software system. The WoundMatrix Mobile platform comes with instant, accurate and reliable wound documentation, image capture and outcome tracking. A robust web-based interface provides for immediate capture of data and images with real-time push notifications amongst users10.10 WoundMatrix – Product - https://www.woundmatrix.co.uk/woundmatrix.aspx (accessed 09/08/2022).

Healogics Inc is a leading provider of advanced wound care services, including wound healing programs, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, patient consultations, and specialty care. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Healogics Photo+ is a downloadable mobile app that automates wound measurement and photography, streamlining diagnosis and treatment. Integrated into WoundSuite, it enhances wound tracking by enabling quick, targeted, and calculated planimetric measurements. The app's cloud-based Decision Support eliminates local image storage, ensuring security and HIPAA compliance. Healogics continues to revolutionise wound care through cutting-edge technology and comprehensive healing solutions. 

Perceptive Solutions, a medical device company headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The company has developed WoundZoom, a mobile wound measurement and documentation system that uses 3D imaging to capture accurate and consistent wound measurements. 

Benefits of Adoption  

Adopting digital wound care technology offers several key outcomes:

Improved accuracy and efficiency: Digital wound management tools can help healthcare providers accurately and efficiently document wound status, track healing progress and monitor treatment outcomes.

Enhanced communication: Digital wound management tools can facilitate communication between healthcare providers, patients, and caregivers, ensuring that everyone is informed about the wound's status, treatment plan and progress.

Cost-effectiveness: By reducing the need for frequent clinic visits, digital wound management tools can save healthcare costs, and they can also help identify issues earlier on, potentially preventing more severe complications that would require more expensive interventions.

Improved patient outcomes: Digital wound management tools can lead to improved patient outcomes by enabling more accurate and timely wound assessment and treatment, which can result in faster healing times and reduced risk of infection.

Accessibility: In rural areas, where access to healthcare may be limited, digital wound management tools can improve access to wound care services and provide timely access to specialised wound care providers. 

Pilot outcomes – Healthy.io 

Healthy.io, winners of the Digital Solutions Fund, successfully implemented and piloted Minuteful for Wounds (MfW) with support from Life Sciences Hub Wales.  

Aligned with the Digital, AI, and Robotics programme, this initiative contributes towards key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Digital Wound Management strategy. MfW, a smartphone-based AI-driven wound management system, was evaluated at Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) from October 2021 to February 2023, highlighting substantial outcomes. These include considerable time and cost savings, reduced travel expenses, increased wound clinic appointments, and positive impacts on operational efficiencies. The TER by Health Technology Wales suggests potential national savings of £4 million annually if MfW is adopted widely.

Pilot deliverables:

  • 6,250 district nurse visits saved (equivalent to 18)
  • 2,083 district nurse hours saved in reduced travel
  • £350 saved due to reduced travel expenses
  • 1,872 additional wound clinic appointments created  
  • 30% less face-to-face reviews for tissue viability nurses  
  • £169,905 saved due to moving from paper to electronic records (447,120 sheets of paper each costing £0.38) 

Alignment to the needs of Health and Social care 

Implementing digital wound management aligns with various health and social care needs:

  1. Embracing a 'digital first' approach to primary care by integrating with GP systems, reducing patient trips to the surgery, and enabling information access in multiple settings.
  2. Aiding in preventing wound progression, thereby easing the burden on secondary care.
  3. Alleviating workforce pressure by minimising administrative tasks.
  4. Assisting clinicians and patients in effective wound management by identifying stagnation and prompting treatment adjustments.
  5. Ensuring cost-effectiveness through early identification of stagnating wounds, averting unnecessary dressing changes, and saving nurse time.
  6. In England, the National Wound Care Strategy Programme addresses these needs, particularly focusing on chronic lower limb wounds, which constitute a sizeable portion of wound care expenditure due to their slower healing rates. The program emphasises training, evidence-based processes, and the implementation of a new digital wound management system to enhance care provision and data collection. 

Contact Details 

If you’re interested in learning more about adopting digital wound management or seeking assistance in creating a more customised adoption proposal, please reach out to Life Sciences Hub Wales through our innovation enquiry form today.