Healthy.io has developed a way to let smartphones assess chronic wounds and track their progress over time. The Israeli company’s technology has been registered with the FDA.
 
The firm created smartphone urinalysis and can turn smartphone cameras into clinical-grade medical devices. The digital wound manager is its second product and an extension of its clinical grade colour recognition products in use by tens of thousands of people worldwide.
 
It helps healthcare professionals objectively assess chronic wounds and track their progress over time through a repeatable process. The technology was registered with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2019.
 
A massive burden, chronic wounds affect 6.5 million people in the USA, costing more than $25bn annually. The aging population and an increase in chronic disease, such as obesity and diabetes, will further compound the chronic wound problem.
 
The current method for measuring and documenting chronic wounds is inconsistent and rudimentary. Measurement by nurses is done with basic tools such as paper rulers, and it is difficult to share and track results over time. This can lead to incorrect treatment, prolonged healing times and growing distress for patients.
 
“Nurses, already overextended, are on the front line of wound care and are the real heroes but the tools they are using today haven’t changed in decades,” said Yonatan Adiri, founder and CEO of Healthy.io. “We believe this is the heart of the problem and why we have created a solution that will help them accurately track wound progress over time. Our expertise, robust partnerships, and track record in clinical grade image and colour recognition position us to make a significant impact on this market.”
 
Using a smartphone app and two calibration stickers placed around a wound to track dimensions, nurses can now scan the wound and get a measurement quickly and effectively. Healthy.io’s technology builds a 3D image, enabling more comprehensive documentation. The app measures wounds and captures standardised visual records over time, eliminating human error and discrepancies that are common in today’s methods due to subjective analysis and inaccurate measurement.
 
The product, which is CE marked, is being used at Care City and Modality Partnership’s Wokingham Medical Centre in the UK.
 
“The biggest impact for us is having photographs of the wound,” said Gill Cooper, clinical lead nurse at Wokingham Medical Centre. “It has given us the chance to review wounds and to think about wound care before the patient even enters the room.”
 
The procedure for nurses is:

• Use the app and two calibration stickers to scan the wound for measurement.
• Provide qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the wound, such as location, wound type, pain level, odour and exudate.
• Document administered treatment plan.
• Reference past treatment and photos.
• Create reports summarising wound progress.

By combining AI and machine learning for colorimetric analysis, UX design and rigorous science, Healthy.io is expanding access to healthcare. The company’s first offering was the only smartphone-powered urinalysis cleared by the FDA and European regulators as equivalent to lab-based testing. It has been used by tens of thousands of patients using a range of smartphones.

By giving people the same test in any location without a compromise in quality, Healthy.io can increase patient compliance and satisfaction, close gaps in care, and reduce total costs for payers and at-risk providers. It is partnering with healthcare and technology companies around the world including Siemens, Samsung, UK National Health Service, Geisinger Health, Johns Hopkins University and the US National Kidney Foundation.