El Camino Hospital, Pleasanton, Calif, has chosen the Leaf Patient Monitoring system to help prevent hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by monitoring the position and movement of patients susceptible to bed sores.

The Leaf system uses a small, lightweight, wearable sensor to electronically monitor a patient’s position and movements. Data collected by the sensor is communicated wirelessly to central monitoring stations or mobile devices so that caregivers can check on patient position and movement.  The system provides alerts when necessary to ensure that all patients wearing a sensor are repositioned according to their prescribed turning schedules to reduce incidence of pressure ulcers.

The hospital’s decision came after a 6-month-long, 138-patient study of the Leaf system. Turning patients regularly is the one of the most effective ways to prevent pressure sores. Baseline data showed turn compliance was at about 64% percent before the system was deployed. Afterwards, turn compliance increased to 98%.

For more information, visit the Leaf Healthcare website.