Innovative Transfer Device
Lead Participant:
BUCKINGHAM HEALTHCARE LIMITED
Abstract
"Established in 2001, Buckingham Healthcare is a market-leading British designer and manufacturer of healthcare and assisted daily living products. The company has a strong existing network of distributors (both direct-to-consumer and healthcare providers) and a well-established brand in the UK and overseas markets.
**Market Opportunity**
Buckingham is seeking Innovate UK funding to support the development of an innovative transfer board for individuals with limited mobility, addressing a rapidly growing global market currently worth £480m (5-year CAGR 9.2%).
Buckingham's transfer board would represent a radical improvement upon the current state-of-the-art; existing products exhibit multiple drawbacks that negatively impact upon user independence and expose carers to significant risk of injury. These include:
1. Prone to contamination and skin-entrapment/shearing, contributing to rising skin-tear/pressure ulcer incidence and associated complications, including secondary morbidity and mortality that can lead to prolonged hospital stays (McInulty, 2017; ISTAP, 2016).
2. Inability to cater for the diversity of surface-surface transfers (sinking into soft surfaces or tilting on hard surfaces) limiting usability and increasing the likelihood of user/carer injury (manual lifting associated with transferring users is the leading cause (19%) of lower-back pain/muscoskeletal disorders amongst healthcare workers (Hassan, 2017)).
**Approach/Innovation**
In contrast, Buckingham is seeking to harness recent advances in lightweight materials, ergonomic design and technologies to develop an innovative, transfer board.
This would:
* Be accessible to a broad range of users (including bariatric, geriatric and disabled) within multiple environments (hospitals, assisted-living centres and private homes) independent of their sitting balance/upper-body strength
* Significantly reduce the risk of user injury (friction burns and/or skin tears) and secondary complications
* Significantly reduce the risk of injuries to carers (or, through automation, remove the need for carer-assistance)
* Be durable, lightweight and easy-to-clean
**Outcome**
Based on a target RRP of ~£300/unit, Buckingham expects the project to generate ~£23.95m cumulative revenues (~16.5% exports) within 5-years of its completion. ROI is projected to be ~789% (forecast R&D investment ~£2.7m; recruitment of 10 FTEs). The transfer board will benefit from Buckingham's existing distribution network and will be made available to the end consumer through a variety of channels (private purchase online and within traditional stores plus national healthcare providers). The transfer board will also complement Buckingham's existing portfolio of assisted living products, driving cross-selling opportunities, particularly in key overseas markets (US, APAC)."
**Market Opportunity**
Buckingham is seeking Innovate UK funding to support the development of an innovative transfer board for individuals with limited mobility, addressing a rapidly growing global market currently worth £480m (5-year CAGR 9.2%).
Buckingham's transfer board would represent a radical improvement upon the current state-of-the-art; existing products exhibit multiple drawbacks that negatively impact upon user independence and expose carers to significant risk of injury. These include:
1. Prone to contamination and skin-entrapment/shearing, contributing to rising skin-tear/pressure ulcer incidence and associated complications, including secondary morbidity and mortality that can lead to prolonged hospital stays (McInulty, 2017; ISTAP, 2016).
2. Inability to cater for the diversity of surface-surface transfers (sinking into soft surfaces or tilting on hard surfaces) limiting usability and increasing the likelihood of user/carer injury (manual lifting associated with transferring users is the leading cause (19%) of lower-back pain/muscoskeletal disorders amongst healthcare workers (Hassan, 2017)).
**Approach/Innovation**
In contrast, Buckingham is seeking to harness recent advances in lightweight materials, ergonomic design and technologies to develop an innovative, transfer board.
This would:
* Be accessible to a broad range of users (including bariatric, geriatric and disabled) within multiple environments (hospitals, assisted-living centres and private homes) independent of their sitting balance/upper-body strength
* Significantly reduce the risk of user injury (friction burns and/or skin tears) and secondary complications
* Significantly reduce the risk of injuries to carers (or, through automation, remove the need for carer-assistance)
* Be durable, lightweight and easy-to-clean
**Outcome**
Based on a target RRP of ~£300/unit, Buckingham expects the project to generate ~£23.95m cumulative revenues (~16.5% exports) within 5-years of its completion. ROI is projected to be ~789% (forecast R&D investment ~£2.7m; recruitment of 10 FTEs). The transfer board will benefit from Buckingham's existing distribution network and will be made available to the end consumer through a variety of channels (private purchase online and within traditional stores plus national healthcare providers). The transfer board will also complement Buckingham's existing portfolio of assisted living products, driving cross-selling opportunities, particularly in key overseas markets (US, APAC)."
Lead Participant | Project Cost | Grant Offer |
|---|---|---|
| BUCKINGHAM HEALTHCARE LIMITED | £229,135 | £ 160,395 |
Participant |
||
| BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY | £33,316 | £ 33,316 |
People |
ORCID iD |
| Christine Buckingham (Project Manager) |