Aged & Long-term Care [AL]

[AL1]: A more productive way of monitoring waste excretion in bed-bound patients

For bed-bound patients, nurses/caregivers currently need to routinely check on their diapers, at 2-3 hour intervals. This process is inefficient, and potentially environmentally unfriendly when minimally wet diapers need to be discarded. The process of weighing diapers to monitor waste excretion of the patients is also cumbersome and manual: putting the soiled diaper on the plastic bag, weighing the diaper, discarding the diaper, and charting the amount.

[AL2]: An affordable solution for transfer of wheelchair-bound patients 

For wheelchair bound patients, transfer to and from wheelchair in a variety of context can be challenging. Caregivers need to exert a lot of strength when lifting the seated person, with potential to result in injuries to both the caregiver and person being lifted. There are existing transfer wheelchairs in the market, but they may not be designed for a multitude of transfer situations and tend to be much more costly. NHG is seeking an affordable wheelchair transfer solution or transfer wheelchair.

[AL3]: Food for elderly that provides the right balance of nutrition, is delectable, and easy to prepare 

There is a lack of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food choices in the market currently, which limits the range of options available for addressing issues elderly at risk ofmalnutrition and frailty face.  Using instant porridge options as an example, those currently available in the market tend to (1) have low calorie and protein content per serving, (2) have less desirable ingredients, and (3) do not have easy-to-prepare packaging and (4) may not have ideal texture/taste. We hope to work together on a solution which can possibly address various nutritional needs in this population.

[AL4]: A way to prevent elderly from injury if they fall from their beds 

While there are many monitoring solutions to detect and prevent falls, there are still instances when elderly fall when they attempt to get out of bed, usually when they are groggy or confused and preventive response cannot be implemented fast enough. While this is not a widespread occurrence, each instance of fall has the potential to result in injury that has serious impact on their long-term health and quality of life.

[AL5]: Effective and affordable utensils for patients with swallowing difficulties 

Patients may have swallowing difficulties due to having to lie supine from their illnesses/injuries, or having psychological disorders or intellectual disabilities.

Adult patients with swallowing problems may have

• Difficulty opening their mouths,
• Difficulty  achieving lip seal during drinking, and
• Poor control of fluids in their mouths

NHG is seeking out-of-the-box solutions for utensil designs that can help this group of patients eat effectively.

[AL6]: A solution that allows people to apply topical cream accurately on target skin areas that are hard to reach, without requiring assistance 

There is no effective self-help apparatus available for people, especially elderly, to help them in applying topical cream to areas that are hard to reach, such as the back and lower limbs. These people may be staying alone, or are shunned by family members due to fear of their scary skin conditions. The apparatus should help them to apply the cream in the exact spot and prescribed amount.