Surface Medical Inc. was the recipient of the ASTech Award- Outstanding Science and Technology Start-up Award. This award is available to entrepreneurs and companies participating in a new venture. It recognizes an individual or team that has demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurial activity in a science and technology related business. There must be a clear Alberta connection to the development, enhancement, commercialization, marketing or other activity related to the science or technology.
Often the smallest solutions have the biggest impact. Surface Medical Inc. has discovered just that with their product CleanPatch.
The first-in-class medical technology is a cost effective solution that restores hospital equipment such as bed or gurney mattresses to an intact and cleanable state, thereby prolonging the life of the mattress and keeping patients safe from contracting a hospital-acquired infection.
“In a hospital the mattress and any soft surface is the workhorse. It’s where surgeons do all their work, it’s how patients get transported around and it’s where patients sleep. It’s a really fundamental piece of equipment that everybody forgets about,” says Fabrizio Chiacchia, President and CEO of Surface Medical Inc.
Currently there are limited methods for dealing with a damaged mattress: do nothing and risk patient safety, use tape that has not been clinically proven or replace the entire mattress.
About Surface Medical
Surface Medical Inc. is a Canadian medical device company focused on developing products to address a $48B problem that results in 100,000 deaths in North America each year: hospital acquired infections. Founded in 2010, Surface Medical is dedicated to creating innovative products that reduce the transfer of infection and facilitate the safe administration of healthcare for the benefit of practitioners and patients alike.
One of the major underlying sources of HAI is the surface surrounding the patient. Surfaces, such as beds, rails, door knobs etc., are in frequent contact with patients and healthcare workers (i.e. high-touch). These surfaces have the potential to harbor dangerous pathogens (i.e. high-risk). Environmental hygiene practice recommend that surfaces should be intact (with no reservoirs for pathogens) and frequently and thoroughly cleaned following patient transfer or discharge to reduce the risk of an HAI. Our experience and data has found that there is room for improvement.
CleanPatch™ is a medical surface repair patch for hospital beds and stretchers that restores damaged mattresses to an intact and hygienic state. The product is a preventative maintenance solution for early signs of damage on soft surfaces.
Nuvaply™ is the worlds-first professional vinyl patch technology for the professional health market (i.e. chiropractors, massage therapists, physiotherapists, and the like) to enable a hygienic environment, patch damaged surfaces and promote brand identity.