Helping patients manage their ostomy
A device that started life as a direct result of the personal experience of its inventor is changing the lives of stoma users. Patient-turned-innovator Michael Seres is now introducing his product to the rest of the world
O
stomi -i Alert Sensor is a product that was conceived in a hospital when its inventor, Michael Seres, was recovering from a bowel transplant. After 20 operations for
the incurable condition Crohn’s disease, he had became the 11th person in the UK to receive a small bowel transplant. Looking for a solution for managing his stoma bag
following the transplant, Seres spent two months developing a hand-built prototype product using parts he had obtained on eBay. It took nine months to take this crude prototype hand built model to fully working product. Along that journey he received the backing of his now business partner Adam Bloom and together they worked with electronics experts to commercialise the product. The results have been life changing. The product
clips on to the outside of a stoma bag and sends Bluetooth alerts to a free app on the user’s mobile
phone. This enables patients to set multiple alarms alerting them as to when the bag is filling. In addition the sensor automatically captures the output data sending it direct to carer, nurse or clinician to provide the first ever real time monitoring of stomas. The device costs about £50 and is purchased direct from the company’s website. From its inception in 2012, 11 Health is now
working with hospitals all over the world. Ostomi-i Alert Sensor is available in the USA on prescription, and many leading US hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital , Mt Sinai and Stanford are undertaking user testing of the device on patients. Michael Seres says that the company is hoping to get the same support from the NHS in the UK. As part of the product development, Michael
Seres talked through online social media to around 20,000 patients to get their views and the company continues to talk to patient groups in the UK and USA. As a result they have a good understanding of the issues which, says Seres, are the same the world over.
102 Global Opportunity Healthcare 2015 | Issue 01
global-opportunity.co.uk
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11 Health
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