Call UsDoctors, nurses, medics and other healthcare workers face higher risks of infection due to direct and prolonged exposure. The long and stressful days weaken their immune system. And the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) compounds the already daunting situation.
As of April 11th, the Spanish health ministry recorded 25,000, or nearly 15 per cent, confirmed coronavirus cases involving healthcare professionals. All over the world, countries are losing medical personnel in this war against COVID-19.
Hospitals are the battleground of this pandemic. For healthcare professionals, their first line of defence is PPE, which includes protective hazmat suits. The World Health Organization (WHO) has rigorous protocols on how to wear, how to remove and when to remove this type of gear.
The hazmat suits are designed to be impermeable to ensure agents or substances do not touch the wearer. The suit is worn on the outside of normal clothing, before gloves, sleeves, shoes, hoods and face masks are placed on to ensure there are no openings where contamination can occur.
The suit also needs to be removed safely without contaminating clothing or skin. Imagine how many times doctors and nurses must go through this protocol and risk infection when they need to go to the toilet. I’d say about five times in a day, at the minimum.
Some resort to not drinking enough water to reduce the need to urinate. This is dangerous because it can cause dehydration and weaken their immune system.
Each time they go on a much-needed toilet break, they spend a lot of time replacing the whole suit. It takes precious time away from critical cases, which is crucial especially in a pandemic. The accelerated use of protective gear increases their vulnerability and can also cause further shortage to an already precarious supply.
Our innovative wearable device ActivGo® is designed to manage urinary incontinence in a hygienic manner. Yet another use of it is helping people who have limited access to toilets or allowing critical workers to urinate within the wearable system comfortably.
People who can benefit from ActivGo® include soldiers, security guards, pilots, drivers, miners, construction workers in sky-high properties, divers and police officers in long operations. Currently, this solution is most valuable to doctors and medics as they take care of COVID-19 patients.
ActivGo® is the world’s first reusable and washing system-integrated urinary external catheter for incontinence management. It replaces the need for adult diapers, disposable pads, condom catheters and intermittent catheters. It is a non-invasive and patient-friendly solution that does not compromise comfort and supports active lifestyles.
ActivGo®’s washing-integrated system makes it the only one in the world that puts a premium on hygiene. It helps protect patients from infections like UTI and consequently, the need for antibiotics and hospital bed. With ActivGo®, we are disrupting and redefining urinary incontinence care and practice to transform millions of lives.
With the ActivGo® Kit™, male doctors and medics can wear one suite only for a full day of duty. This means that they don’t need to go to the toilet and risk exposure. The kit can comfortably manage urination without disrupting work.
In effect, they can maximise productivity and reduce chances of contamination or exposure. They also don’t have to further compromise their health. They can drink as much water and fluids as they need to stay hydrated, robust and healthy. And because there’s no need to regularly change protective gears, they can reduce daily consumption and keep vital stock last longer.
We are already working with several hospitals in Italy, Algeria and the UAE that have adopted ActivGo® for their male staff. We’re coordinating with partners to create a subsidized scheme so we can give our kits to these hospitals free of charge. We are also working on a hazmat suit design that is fully integrated with ActivGo® for added convenience. This means one less item of clothing that doctors and medics must wear.
For female healthcare professionals, our female product AllDays™ is in the pipeline and will be rolled out soon.
We welcome partners and sponsors who would like to team up with us and take this initiative to more hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world.