ParaNano: Applying nano technology to wound care (216)

ParaNano Wound Care (PWC) solves a global problem in treatment of infection in chronic wounds: detection, notification, and early intervention. Infection in chronic wounds currently drives $27 billion of cost into the U.S. health care system , and comprises 3% of health care costs in developed countries, globally. PWC was founded in 2018 with the goal to develop and commercialize a truly smart wound care product that would detect and treat infection in a wound. Through market research and customer discovery, PWC decided to develop and commercialize the biosensor portion of this product first as it has an easier FDA pathway and can act as a predict device for planned future product lines. To date, feasibility has been proven and final design prototyping is taking place. PWC has all necessary strategic partners in place for regulatory clearance (both FDA & CMS) and successful distribution/market entry. The company’s initial focus is on wounds treated in Long Term Care (LTC) facilities, then expanding into managed wound care clinics for outpatients. At least 2.5 million seniors in LTC facilities may require chronic wound care in a single year . A high percentage of seniors suffer wounds while in care, often a pressure injury. Care for these patients with wounds in LTC facilities falls largely on the shoulders of inexperienced and minimally trained care takers, resulting in higher rates of infection from late detection of an onset of infection. This leads to higher rates of hospital admittance, expensive treatment plans, and prolonged patient suffering, totaling billions of dollars of wasted resources. Reportedly, chronic, non-healing wounds impact nearly 15% of Medicare beneficiaries each year — or 8.2 million seniors. In other words, wound care costs around $3,000 to $4,000 per incident, per patient . ParaNano Wound Care provides a product that will enable these essential healthcare workers in LTC facilities to properly and timely detect infection, regardless of skill or education level, decreasing the timeline of infection treatment, decreasing hospital admittance, lowering cost, and improving patient outcomes.