Life-saving wearable technology for cancer patients secures place at Innovate 2016

A potentially life-saving technology which could dramatically impact on the lives of thousands of children and adults receiving cancer treatment has won a place at the UK’s largest innovation event  - Innovate 2016.

The Tookie Vest for Oncology was developed by Liverpool based healthcare innovation business Tookie Ltd, to prevent the accidental fall out and safe management of central venous catheters; vital to cancer patients.

Over 200,000 central lines are fitted in the UK each year, with over 10,000 used in children being treated for cancer  -  many having their central lines accessed on a daily basis to administer medicine and monitor patient health.

Mr Ross J Craigie – a Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital said:

As a children’s surgeon, I see first-hand the concerns that parents have around care and security of their child’s central line and also the implications of premature line removal.

The Tookie Vest aims to give both actual line security and also peace of mind to families, something that we have been waiting for in central line care.

Launching as a product that is focused around children but also available to adults, the Tookie Vest minimises the chance of toddlers and children tampering with chords, eliminating exposed looping and provides peace of mind to worried parents. In addition to this, the vest has a movable pouch to host and support the ends of the catheter line and is manufactured from a textile impregnated with an anti-bacterial agent.

Mr Stephen Tooke, Commercial Director of Tookie Limited said:

The Tookie Vest for Oncology is the first of Tookie’s product designs to be launched - no other such product exists.

Generally, there are ‘makeshift solutions’ - but nothing that provides constructive, consistent and robust support, to a patients fitted with a central venous catheter, in the UK or internationally.

Complications related to central lines are common with tubes often snagging, twisting and looping. The accidental removal of a catheter from a patient receiving long-term chemotherapy can often result in infection with serious consequences for the patient. In the UK approximately £36.2 million is spent on treating central line infection each year and in the US this figure is $2.6 Billion.

The company is engaged with a number of NHS Hospital Trusts - whom with clinicians and patients are developing the renal, nutrition and respiratory Tookie Vest to suit each patient groups needs to support their lines. Additionally, on display at Innovate 2016 is the Tookie Smart Vest which features embedded textile biosensors that capture and send vital patient information via Wi-Fi to a smartphone for enhanced patient self-care and monitoring in the home.

The Tookie Vest will be on show alongside 100 of the most cutting edge innovations from businesses across the country at the Innovate 2016 event in Manchester on November the second and third.