Swedish hygiene and health company Essity has discovered a way to assess wounds using a smartphone app.

Its Cutimed Wound Navigator can provide patients with the most suitable care; the mobile app records key wound characteristics, generates an assessment and helps healthcare professionals select the appropriate wound product.

Cutimed Wound Navigator is a digital method that supports assessing and documenting wounds. The app records key wound characteristics via a simple interface, including the ability to capture an image, from which wound measurements are automatically determined.

The result of an assessment can be summarised and extracted in a digital report generated in the app to simplify wound documentation. By supporting and facilitating the daily work of healthcare professionals, the app can leave more time to provide patient care.

“At Essity we are dedicated to improving well-being through leading hygiene and health solutions,” said Ulrika Kolsrud, president of health and medical at Essity. “With the Cutimed Wound Navigator app, we are fulfilling an unmet need in the clinical workflow by simplifying wound documentation. Our goal is to provide support to healthcare professionals in wound assessment and product selection while at the same time improving consistency of care.”

The app, which is available on both iOS and Android, was initially launched in Germany and will be launched in additional countries next year.

The development of the software was a collaboration between Essity and Imito, a Swiss healthcare start-up. The collaboration was enabled through Essity Ventures, an initiative of Essity that aspires to partner with health and hygiene start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Cutimed is a brand within Essity’s medical business and provides products developed for the management of chronic and complex wounds, covering all stages of the healing process.

Essity says it has accelerated the digital transformation in all parts of its business.