Author: Ray Curatolo
Innovation is the word for Next Health going into this New Year of 2016. Our product, the AgileLife system will continue to grow in features and design as we strive to improve safety and health for the immobile community while increasing overall efficiency in all of the care settings we serve.
This past fall we announced being the recipient of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant by the National Institute of Health (NIH). NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. NIH has recognized Next Health as a company in support of their mission with the development of the AgileLife Transfer and Mobility System (TMS).
The Zero-Lift patient transfer that takes place with the AgileLife system is transforming care for the immobile community in all care settings. Our integrated TMS system includes a traditional hospital bed, wheelchair/commode chair, docking system and transfer sheet. These components work together to transfer an immobile individual from bed to wheelchair and back in under two minutes without the use of a lifting device.
The SBIR grant will allow our team at Next Health and our partner, the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL) and their director Dr. Rory Cooper, to design and test a bariatric width wheelchair and tilt-in space wheelchair which will be integrated into the TMS. HERL is a research laboratory jointly funded by the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the University of Pittsburgh. The work that our team is doing in combination with the research team at HERL is an exciting venture as we move into an innovative and exciting New Year.
