Much of the hype around AI in healthcare has revolved around software so far. But smart sensing hardware has the potential to save the NHS millions of pounds by reducing patient discomfort, supporting better community care, and elevating the training of healthcare professionals, writes Ming Kong, co-founder and CEO of the smart surface innovators, TG0.
As the demands on the NHS intensify, health professionals are under pressure to deliver better, more personalised patient care, faster. Bed occupancy has been rising for the past 15 years, with bottlenecks leaving thousands of people waiting for discharge to services in the community. Workforce vacancies remain a concern, and waiting lists are only just starting to fall.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer believes the answer may partly lie in the gains offered by AI. After the publication of Lord Darzi’s review, he pointed to the need for AI to transform care, and pledged to move “from an analogue to a digital NHS”. The technology has been helping nurses transform wound care, reimagining the way GPs run triage, and is being used to develop new treatments for cancer and Alzheimer’s. But while much of the focus so far has been on the capabilities of AI software, it is AI-driven hardware, powered by pressure mapping technologies that has the potential to usher in a new era of patient-centred care.
Real-world applications
Pressure mapping technology isn’t new but innovations in capacitive pressure and touch sensing have enabled it to be applied to healthcare settings in recent years. There’s no longer any need for rigid circuit boards or mechanical components. The technology is more cost effective and can be integrated within any material, allowing for more flexibility, durability and advanced hygiene credentials. Plus AI integration means the user insights are more reliable and precise, which is critical for medical diagnostics and treatment.
Here are five examples of smart sensing applications for healthcare settings:
1. Beds and wheelchairs
More than 700,000 people are affected by pressure ulcers in the UK every year, a number that isn’t decreasing despite the advances in medical care. Pressure sores are painful for patients and expensive to treat, extending hospital stays significantly. It’s also a constant worry for those confined to a wheelchair or who are bedridden at home.
With pressure mapping technology, wheelchairs can be set up properly, so that pressure is minimised while support is enhanced. This can also be applied to mattresses so that medical staff can monitor a patient’s pressure levels, detect when that pressure is reaching dangerous levels (even before the patient may notice), and prevent sores forming in the first place. That’s not only better for the patient’s discomfort and recovery, it also minimises the length of hospital stays and outpatient appointments to treat sores. These sensors can also help short-staffed nurses and care workers look after vulnerable patients who might wander off in the night, or need other assistance.
2. Prosthetics
In the UK, 57,000 people rely on lower limb prosthetics, with up to 6,000 major limb amputations performed every year. Current solutions face significant challenges such as poor fit and pressure-related injuries, which can lead to patients abandoning the prosthetic device. It’s estimated prosthetic abandonment and complications cost the NHS £10m every year in additional care and replacement devices.
Pressure mapping technology can provide objective data and insights to measure the initial prosthetic fit (even if the patient has reduced sensation), enhance the patient’s comfort levels and optimise the functionality and mobility of the device. With flexible, polymer-based sensors, clinicians can monitor the fit remotely and make adjustments before discomfort leads to more serious health issues. It’s particularly useful in the case of children who are growing fast, where prosthetics need to be monitored regularly to prevent any issues.
3. Smart insoles
Measuring the pressure distribution of a patient’s foot via smart insoles is particularly helpful for patients with conditions such as spina bifida and diabetes. One in every four people with diabetes will get a foot ulcer in their lifetime (which often reoccur), and approximately 20% of diabetic foot infections will result in some form of lower limb amputation.
One recent study led by Manchester Metropolitan University found using smart insoles reduced the recurrence of foot ulcers by 71% over 18 months. It empowers users to adjust their behaviour when they receive an alert (such as taking a walk, sitting down or loosening tight footwear). This reduces the incidences of worsening conditions and minimises the need for hospital stays or other healthcare intervention. Smart insoles can also be used to monitor the rehabilitation of patients recovering from a fall or other condition affecting their mobility.
4. Community care and remote monitoring
Proactive monitoring with pressure mapping can help clinicians identify potential issues before symptoms appear, or monitor the recovery of patients in the community, freeing up hospital beds. As well as smart insoles and smart beds, pressure mapping can be used in grip devices too. One such examples has been tested with post-stroke patients with encouraging results. By mapping individual finger movements and force, tiny changes can be tracked to accurately monitor progress and keep patients motivated to engage with their physio exercises.
5. Medical training
Mannequins and other training tools with responsive, skin-like surfaces are able to provide more realistic experiences for healthcare professionals, elevating their education experience without increasing costs. Pressure mapping (and haptic feedback which provides a physical response to touch) enables highly accurate pressure data capture, allowing users to understand how force is applied during medical procedures such as CPR or injections. By reacting and communicating like real tissue, these smart surfaces deliver a much more immersive training opportunity that mimics a human response while collecting real-time feedback to help trainees refine their technique.
Simple devices that do more
As digital health continues to evolve, smart sensing technologies serve as a reminder that meaningful innovation often lies not in added complexity, but in simple designs that do more. By embedding intelligence directly into the surfaces patients interact with, it’s possible to create a more adaptive healthcare system that saves money, innovates more personalised treatments, and serves both clinicians and patients more effectively.
By empowering healthcare workers to provide better care, and enabling patients to look after their own wellbeing with the support of remote monitoring, the pressure on the NHS will be significantly reduced. It’s a shift that could transform the health of the country in the long term, as society at large redirects its attention to focus on prevention rather than cure.
