The Big Picture
As Utah’s population ages, more patients may need to receive treatment, recover and age in place at home. At the University of Utah’s James LeVoy Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation, the Home Health Studio is helping prepare for that shift.
The realistic home environment gives clinicians, engineers, students and medical device companies a place to design and test technology around how patients actually live.
What’s Happening
A device that works well in a hospital may create new challenges at home. Cords and hoses can become tripping hazards, equipment may take up too much space and some tools may be difficult to operate without clinical staff nearby.
The Home Health Studio helps innovators spot those issues early and redesign products for safe, practical use outside a hospital. That could include familiar devices such as CPAP machines and oxygen concentrators, reengineered hospital equipment or tools that have not yet been invented.
Spencer Walker, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Medical Innovation, said the FDA projects that about half of medical devices will be home healthcare products within the next decade.
Why It Matters
Home-based care can help patients remain in a familiar setting while saving time, money and healthcare resources. It can also preserve hospital capacity for people who need urgent or critical care.
But bringing care home requires more than moving medical equipment out of a hospital. Devices must be safe, intuitive and designed for patients and caregivers to use in everyday environments.
The Bottom Line
This story is part of UHA’s monthly “The Future of Healthcare is…” series, highlighting the innovation helping bring the best medical care to Utahns.
The Home Health Studio is helping ensure that as more care moves into the home, the tools patients depend on are ready to move with it.