Each year during the UOAA Annual National Conference, the United Ostomy Associations of America reviews the best new ostomy products presented at the convention. At their Fourth UOAA National Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, a recently launched product called “Ostom-i Alert” won the 2013 Editor’s Choice Award.
Read more on the 2013 Editor’s Choice Award for Best New Product here.
The Ostom-i Alert sensor is a discreet Bluetooth device that alerts patients to the fullness of their ostomy bags via a mobile app. The device (pictured below) clips onto any ostomy bag, where it sends pre-set wireless notifications to a mobile device that alert the user as to how full the bag is. Alerts may be set to personal preference, sending notifications when the bag is 30% full, 50% full, and 75% full, for example. Users can use different settings during the day and at night to help prevent nighttime overflows.
The Ostom-i Alert sensor also monitors the volume and timing of output. The device captures information about the volume of output over a time period, which is stored on the Ostom-i Alert website. Users can arrange for a daily, weekly or monthly report that generates a graph recording volume and time of output. These reports can be emailed to up to 5 different email addresses, such as to the user, a family member or a physician.
Each device is single use and lasts up to three months, or the length of the battery life. The actual battery life depends upon the number of alarms set per day.
One of the company’s founders, Michael Seres, was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at 12 years old. After more than 20 operations, he became only the 11th person to receive a small bowel transplant in the UK. Read more about how his experience an ostomy patient led him to design the initial Ostom-i prototype in this Forbes interview.
The Ostom-I Alert sensor was launched in the United Kingdom, and it is currently regulated in the U.S. by the FDA as a class 1 medical device. For more information, visit the Ostom-i Alert website.
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