Sleeptite REMi Smart Bedding System for Aged Care

The Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care outlined the existing system is failing to deliver fundamental needs, safety and dignity, to our most vulnerable population. The sector is challenged by understaffing and inadequate routine collection of data that can be used to improve health quality outcomes and support carers. Existing falls prevention technologies have been critiqued for being too invasive, prone to human error, difficult to use, or culturally unacceptable to clients. Sleeptite’s challenge was to develop a personalised, unobtrusive monitoring solution that was invisible to users whilst seamlessly integrating into care workflows, increasing efficiency for carers without adding workload.

Sleeptite’s patented REMi system stems from translating novel, flexible, stretchable, sensor technology into bedding to provide a non-invasive, data-driven solution to monitor a person’s presence, position, movement and posture in real-time from the surface of a bed –characterising early indicators of distress, discomfort and potential fall. Extensive end-user co-design and stakeholder engagement enabled the development of a solution that is an easily deployable, low-cost ‘safety net’ for facility or home care that is virtually undetectable to the aged care consumer, while purpose-built notification systems inform carers of increased risk levels allowing for more timely and personalised responses.

Treatment of injuries from falls in people aged 65+ costs our economy over $2.3 billion each year, with multiple flow-on effects for healthcare services, loss of independence by older people, and family impact. Australia’s ageing population is placing significant pressure on the care workforce. Integrating smart technology can significantly improve health outcomes and support efficient operation and reporting. REMi® will ensure a seamless user experience for facility staff and residents, while enabling more people to stay in their homes for longer, providing the choice to retain a level of independence and dignity while offering peace of mind to carers.

Sleeptite’s user research, undertaken with a wide variety of aged care experts including Registered Nurses, Occupational Therapists, aged care residents, Commercial, Regulatory and Technical stakeholders, validated our working assumptions and ensured our focus was data-driven. Key areas of concern created an anchoring set of needs that informed Sleeptite’s ongoing design decisions and kept our end users front and centre. A recent Productivity Commission report found financial pressure is an issue across the sector with 64% of residential aged care providers currently operating at a loss. To reach optimal operational and business performance it is critical for providers to have smart systems capable of utilising objective data to improve health outcomes and support efficient operations and reporting. Sleeptite was founded by the van den Dungen family who owned and operated private aged care homes from the 1960s prior to becoming founding members of Forty Winks in 1984. This significant experience in both sectors, long-held connections and a proven track record in manufacturing and commercial success means Sleeptite is uniquely positioned to tackle this challenge. REMi® has been developed with industry partners on sensor development, advanced manufacturing processes and medical device development pathways and has attracted $3.1 million in government funding.