SmiLe company Phystec has sold licenses to Karolinska Institutet, which is using the company’s eHealth tool Pedatim Träningstavlan (Activity Board) in a new clinical study. Earlier studies show that physical therapy is optimized in patients who use this tool, for which reason they were discharged from the hospital an average of 24 hours earlier than the control group. This saves about €1,000 per patient and frees up care resources for new patients.
The eHealth tool Pedatim Activity Board is an easy-to-understand tool that motivates patients and facilitates monitoring of post-surgical rehabilitation or for other medical conditions. It is particularly important for patients who have undergone surgery to comply with their prescribed treatment in order to regain their physical capacity and return to work. The activity board was designed by physical therapist Ingela Sjölin, who together with Joakim Sjölin founded the company Phystec to commercialize the product.
A previous clinical study shows that patients who used the Pedatim Activity Board achieved a much higher level of physical activity and on average required one day less hospitalization than the control group. The study was conducted by Karolinska Institutet using an analog version of the activity board. Since each day of hospitalization costs approximately €1,000, during this study alone the activity board saved a total of up to €65,000.
The functions of the Pedatim Activity Board are based on clear goals and a reward system that engages and motivates patients to complete the entire physical therapy regimen. The board also facilitates a smooth transition from hospital to continued training at home. The history is stored and depersonalized data can be saved for use in research. The product is easily reset for each new patient. The product is under continuous development to constantly meet patient needs and requests. During in-depth interviews, patients gave the activity board the highest rating for the support it provided in their training.
“We are extremely pleased that Karolinska Institutet has chosen to buy licenses to use the Pedatim Activity Board and we are in engaged in discussion with other interested customers within the health services. The board motivates patients and provides physical therapists and care providers with a good overview of the patient’s progress. Based on clinical studies, we estimate that if hospitalized patients go home half a day earlier, and if we take 20 percent of the market, the healthcare system will save €120 million per year. We would like to see the board become standard equipment for rehabilitation,” says Ingela Sjölin, CEO of Phystec.
For more information, please contact: Ingela Sjölin CEO of Phystec, +46 (0)703-545093, info@phystec.se
About Phystec: The eHealth company Phystec is now commercializing the digital version of the Pedatim Activity Board. Customers buy licenses that include both hardware and software. The company, which was founded by physical therapist Ingela Sjölin and Joakim Sjölin, is a member of SmiLe Incubator. www.phystec.se
About the Pedatim Activity Board: The Pedatim Activity Board was first developed as an analog product and is currently in use at several hospitals in Sweden and Denmark. The activity board displays the individual exercise regimen in a weekly schedule. Patients simply check off the exercises performed, which gives physical therapists and care providers control over how well orders are followed and whether patients require staff assistance for support in the exercise regimen.
Clinical studies show major positive effects, not only through healthier patients, but the activity board also lowers healthcare costs while freeing up resources, making more hospital beds available.
About the clinical studies: Karolinska Institutet has conducted two independent studies at the New Karolinska Hospital in Solna using an analog version of the Pedatim Activity Board. The first study measured the efficacy of the board and the second study investigated patient and staff satisfaction. Karolinska Institutet has initiated a new study to compare whether the company’s digital version provides equally good benefit. The first two studies are published in scientific journals, read here and here.
What patients say about the Pedatim Activity Board:
“Like I said, I don’t think I would have gotten up otherwise. Because you’re in so much pain that you just can’t do it. You don’t think you can manage it” (woman, age 40)
“Without this help, I don’t think I would have been as active; I really don’t, and it would have been a tough struggle. Since you know that it (the board) is ‘beckoning’ you, you realize that if I do well, then maybe I’ll get to go home tomorrow” (man, age 65)
SmiLe Incubator is a life science business incubator based in Medicon Village in Lund, Sweden. SmiLe helps entrepreneurs commercialize their ideas. There are currently 25 companies in SmiLe which, together with alumni companies, have attracted more than EUR 460 million in venture capital to date since 2014. SmiLe offers excellent business coaching, a broad international network of contacts and a dynamic community, as well as well-equipped laboratories which is unique of its kind in Sweden. SmiLe is a non-profit organization and receives basic funding from Region Skåne, Lund Municipality, Lund University and Medicon Village. SmiLe´s sponsors are Agilent, Sparbanken Skåne, Awa, Høiberg, Prevas, Setterwalls, Zacco, Aqilion. SmiLe’s listed alumni companies have a market capitalization of EUR 1,3 billion (Q1 2021). www.smileincubator.life