A smart, patient-centred drainage solution enhancing comfort, safety, and efficiency in palliative care
The challenge
Malignant pleural effusion (MPE), or fluid in the chest, poses a significant challenge for approximately 50% of cancer patients, manifesting during the progression of their disease. Despite remarkable advancements in cancer treatment, the management of MPE remains palliative, with patients facing a median survival duration spanning from 3 to 12 months.1 The primary objective in managing MPE is to alleviate symptoms of breathlessness caused by the fluid and enhance the quality of life for patients as they approach the end-of-life stage. Existing outpatient drainage technologies, indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) were designed over 25 years ago with minimal changes in design considerations since then.
The intention of IPCs is to allow patients to take control of the management of their symptoms outside of the confines of the hospital environment to improve quality of life. And although, an IPC can be inserted in an outpatient procedure and allows the fluid to be drained when they feel breathless, the drainage process if very cumbersome to use by patients themselves . Drainage of the fluid involves a heavy reliance on either relatives, carers or home nurses to assist with drainage which has a significant negative affect on patients sense of autonomy and, thus, quality of life. Clinician feedback has indicated that less than 5% of patients perform the drainage themselves.
Current catheter drainage bottles are pre-evacuated with negative pressure that is used to drain the fluid, but due to the high levels of negative pressure experienced by the chest cavity during drainage many patients report pain and discomfort during drainage.
The current patient pathway involves numerous unnecessary face to face visits across a patients treatment, as the standard approach involves monthly in-person clinic visits, whereby paper-based patient drainage logs are reviewed and the tube insertion site checked. Often patients are travelling long distances for these visits.
The solution
releaze is a patient-centric, digital drainage solution that aims to be a more user-friendly device for patient and clinicians compared to the current approaches; to reduce the discomfort currently experienced by patients when draining; and to streamline the overall patient pathway by reducing routine clinic visits and nurse home visits.
The device incorporates:
- A patented subcutaneous ‘anchor’ component that allows the drainage tube to be secured via just once incision as opposed to two with standard catheter devices. This feature, in conjunction with an all-in-one dressing, provides the discreet platform which is central to the comfort of the device for the patient as well as the usability of the connection of the apparatus for drainage.
- A reusable drainage hub that incorporates cutting-edge sensor-based technology and electronics to revolutionise the drainage process. Unlike conventional catheter drainage bottles, which often subject patients to fluctuating levels of high negative pressure, the innovative hub features an autostop function and maintains a consistent low-level negative pressure throughout the drainage procedure. This not only ensures patient comfort but also mitigates the risk of pressure spikes, enhancing safety and minimising potential discomfort.
- A companion remote monitoring system for releaze, integrating both a patient app and a clinician dashboard, designed to empower patients in managing their drainage schedules effectively while facilitating seamless communication with their clinical team. The patient companion app enables individuals to track their drainage progress and monitor associated symptoms conveniently from their own devices. This data is shared via the clinician dashboard, obviating the need for frequent face-to-face visits that traditionally relied on paper-based drainage logs.
Expected impact
releaze will play a crucial role in enhancing and optimising the resource efficiency of health systems. By offering more personalised palliative care to a larger population of MPE patients, releaze ensures greater accessibility while streamlining workflows for healthcare professionals.
The introduction of releaze presents substantial advantages in:
- minimising hospital visits by up to 90%, resulting in enhanced healthcare efficiency and alleviating pressure on medical facilities.
- minimising the necessity for nurse home visits, potentially eliminating the need entirely for certain patients. Beyond conserving valuable healthcare resources, each avoided visit represents a meaningful contribution to environmental sustainability.
- eliminating the necessity for current pre-evacuated hardened plastic bottles, which generate significant waste over extended treatment periods. With releaze, treatment durations are notably shorter, potentially halving the costs of drainage supplies.
External Partners
- Symphysis Medical (Activity Leader)