Thanks to modern advancements in the fields of medical health and technology, the world’s elderly population continues to grow. As a result, there is an increase in seniors who are in need of medical care, whether it is home-based, through a residential living facility, or in a hospital.One of the most scrutinized and regulated areas of policy, established by Western government officials, medical insurance companies and healthcare providers for elderly patients and their caregivers, involves the safe transfer of patients to and from bed.But due to a revolutionary technology developed in Israel, non-ambulatory patients can now be safely transferred from a reclining to a sitting or standing and walking position and back again, thanks to a relatively new and innovative product known as the Total Lift Bed.The bed is an electrically operated hospital-style bed, which allows caregivers to raise a strapped-in patient to an 85-degree angle, while he is balanced on an adjustable foot panel, allowing him to stand comfortably, and without the risk of falling, before he is ready to try and walk.The hi-tech bed is also equipped with scales that allow caregivers to determine the pressure a patient is putting on the foot panel in relation to their body weight. This helps determine whether it is safe to try and take the safety strap off and attempt walking.The Tel Aviv-based international company behind the invention is VitalGo Systems, which since its founding in 2005 has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for the elderly populations in Israel, the US and other countries around the world.Ohad Paz, VitalGo’s CEO and co-inventor of the bed, spends his time marketing the device to healthcare providers both in Israel and the US, and says that his company recognized the need for the development of a special bed, since “the No. 1 cause for accidents among the elderly is a result of falls.”He adds that “in the US alone, fall related-injuries in the elderly, which often lead to hospitalization, rehabilitation, etc., cost around $20 billion a year.”In addition to patient falls, Paz explains that another major concern for all parties involved in the medical industry is ensuring caregiver well-being. “Medical caregivers are at the top of the list of fields where occupational injuries occur,” he says. This is often the result of skeletal or muscle-related injuries suffered by a caregiver while lifting or transferring patients who are bedridden.However, Paz adds that thanks to the bed, “only one caregiver is needed, and with a touch of a button [and without any physical strain], a patient can safely and in a dignified manner be lifted.”The CEO points out another important advantage of the product, which allows a patient to more easily get out of bed, particularly in a hospital setting.“Recent medical evidence indicates the importance of early mobilization... Patients who are bedridden for long periods of time can lose large amounts of muscle mass, and develop infections, deep vein thrombosis and other medical complications.”Paz’s statement is backed by research on intensive care unit patients, conducted in 2008 by Dr. Dale Needham, of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.Needham’s study concludes that “the routine use of deep sedation and bed rest in ICU patients may be causing unnecessary and long-term physical impairment, and poor quality of life after hospital discharge.” Therefore, he adds, “it’s becoming clear that the safety and benefits of early mobilization are real, and that it’s better to get moving sooner rather than later.”Dr. Eric Setton, hospital director of the Bayit Balev geriatric rehabilitation and long-term care hospital in Bat Yam, is grateful that his ventilation ward was recently given the bed for trial use. He concurs with Needham’s findings on the importance of early patient mobility in the rehabilitation process.“Our patients in the ventilation ward require hospitalization for long periods of time, months or sometimes years,” he says. “When ventilated patients are treated long term, their body position and changing of position is important. Every single day, they must change sides, as well as sit up and/or stand. But this is challenging since they are connected to ventilators with a lot of tubes. It’s something that has to be done carefully. This bed allows us to accomplish that much more easily.”Setton also stresses that from a psychological perspective during the recovery process, “it is important to get patients who are looking up at the ceiling all day to be in a more ‘human’ – or horizontal – position, which the bed allows for.” According to Paz, Israel has only three such beds in use, which are being shared by various hospitals and other health-care facilities based on request and availability.He says that recently, the burn unit at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer utilized the bed in the treatment one of the victims from the August 2012 terrorist bombing of an Israeli bus in Burgas, Bulgaria.“One of the victims, who suffered from painful burns on his lower extremities, needed to be in a standing position in order to improve his circulation. With the use of the bed, he was gradually able to be tilted and raised. This allowed for a change in his entire treatment plan and schedule, and after only two weeks, he could already put weight on his feet and walk – all because of the bed.”While Israel has only a few such beds in use, Paz says that the company’s marketing strategy has been focused on targeting various communities in the US. He says that currently he has 250 beds being rented out across the country, and is in the process of producing another 300 beds for various healthcare facilities that intend to buy the product for full-time use.In addition, he has received requests from facilities in Italy, Germany, Japan, China, and several South American countries. He says the bed is registered with both the US Food and Drug Administration as well as the European Commission.“This bed is going to be the future of the way patients are cared for in the hospitals,” says Paz. “It is just a matter of a few years. We already see big [medical design] companies going in this direction, and although we [VitalGo Systems] are a small Israeli company, we are further ahead in terms of technology. The tilting and control system on the bed puts us ahead of the game.”
