Sensor technology is being tested for use with incontinence products. Potential benefits of the SmartBrief include cost savings for long-term care facilities and improved comfort and skin health for seniors managing incontinence.

Sensor technology has been applied to the incontinence products category to create the SmartBrief, an “intelligent adult brief,” says Lynn Wilson, Founder of The CareGiver Partnership, a national retailer of incontinence products. It uses a patent-pending sensor and software to alert staff in nursing homes and skilled care centers when an adult diaper needs to be changed.

“SmartBrief technology has the potential to reduce facility costs by eliminating unnecessary product changes, and its data tracking capabilities can make it easier to schedule staff and control inventory,” Wilson says.

According to Gweepi Medical, the company that created the SmartBrief, using their patent-pending technology will result in cost savings for long-term care facilities and improved skin health for those who wear incontinence products. Wireless technology alerts staff when an incontinence product needs changing, and a user-friendly dashboard records data that administrators can use to track product inventory and operational efficiencies across multiple facilities.

“One of its most important benefits to facility residents and their families is the potential for improved skin health,” says Wilson. “Removing urine and feces as soon as possible can help prevent skin breakdown and injury, increase wearer comfort and reduce urinary tract infections.”

Gweepi Medical, based in Cambridge, Mass., and founded by a biomedical engineer and a software developer, is testing SmartBrief technology in a clinical setting and eventually will offer it to brief manufacturers. In addition, the company is researching cost-effective ways to apply the software to the home care setting.