Seneca Devices

Our EasyShift product was created when biomedical engineers came together with nurses at the Duke School of Nursing Health Innovation Lab to create a better solution for patient repositioning that is high tech and low touch.

The clinical team said that pulling patients up in bed is a daily task that is both time-consuming and physically strenuous. It often takes 10-20 minutes to gather enough staff together in the room, and boosting is a primary cause of repetitive musculoskeletal strain for caregivers.

After early prototypes were designed by the Seneca team and tested at the Health Innovation Lab, clinicians suggested the device should also turn the patient side to side, since this is often done while the team is assembled.

Enabling just one caregiver to both turn and boost the patient would promote frequent repositioning, as well as streamline workflow for sheet change, skin care, peri care, placing mobility aids, and more. This would save time for front-line staff and eliminate two of the leading causes of caregiver musculoskeletal strain.

To make this workflow possible, the Seneca team designed a mattress overlay with inflatable cushions that can gently shift the patient up in bed and also turn side to side. The cushions are inflated by an air pump unit that hangs on the foot of the bed, which is controlled by a remote that the caregiver can use at the bedside.