HME Business Award Winners

Gold Medal Performers

The winners of the 2016 HME Business New Product of the Year Awards show a desire to blend cost- quality- and care-consciousness.

• By David Kopf
• Dec 01, 2016

An Olympic runner hoping to win the gold takes the line. For years, she has trained knowing that she must blend both endurance and speed. After the starting gun fires, she must measure out her performance, pacing herself and doling out her stamina in careful doses, and then, when the time is right, she will explode toward the finish line. Giving it her all. Balance brings victory.

Like Olympic athletes, HME providers are seeking a similar balance. They need equipment that can help them remain profitable under continuing reimbursement cuts, while also ensuring they can deliver the right care. And many product manufacturers are responding to those blended needs.

Such is the case with most of the winners of the 2016 installment of the HME Business New Product of the Year award competition. In our third year, we had nearly double the amount of submissions in comparison to last year, and close to three times that of our inaugural competition.

And despite that increased volume of products, our panel of HME provider judges appeared to gravitate to products that prioritized value. No, the trend was neither unanimous nor constant, but it was a clear indication that there is a desire to have it all: care, cost and quality.

This year we received entries across 12 categories:

• Beds & Support Surfaces
• Business Technology; Complete HME Management Solutions
• Business Technology; Specialized Solutions
• Mobility; Power & Manual Wheelchairs
• Mobility; Scooters
• Respiratory; In-Home Equipment
• Respiratory; Portable Equipment
• Retail
• Seating and Positioning
• Sleep; Resupply Items & Related Sleep Products
• Sleep; Therapy Systems
• Wound Care

As mentioned, to judge the entries, various anonymous HME providers across a variety of disciplines volunteered scored the entries. As a result, this year’s competition produced 15 winners with ties in three categories. Let’s learn more about the 2016 New Product of the Year Award winners and see which offerings aim to help providers strike a winning balance:

Beds & Support Surfaces

Harmony Tru Low Air Loss Tri Therapy Mattress Replacement System — Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare

The Harmony Tru Low Air Loss Tri Therapy Mattress Replacement includes an intuitive 1300 LPM blower system with pulsation and alternating pressure for the prevention and treatment of all stages of pressure ulcers. The comfort setting control is based on patient’s weight for optimal comfort and therapy, and a seat Inflation feature ensures added support in the Fowler position. The mattress fully inflates in under two minutes via an Autofirm feature. Digital micro-processing continuously monitors pressure for optimal therapeutic pressure redistribution, and visual and audio low pressure, power failure and system failure alarms. A 2 in. foam base included for power outage protection. A Silver Stretch Cover with permanent silver-ion kills 99.5 percent of germs; fluid resistant, vapor permeable, soft and supple. For cable management, five side mattress loops keep cables off the floor. Also a five-minute panel lockout feature protects from unintentional setting changes.

Business Technology; Complete HME Management Solutions

HDMS Complex Items Companion — Universal Software Solutions

The HDMS Complex Items companion from Universal Software Solutions is a solution for managing and optimizing the workflow necessary to be profitable in providing any type of complex rehabilitation productions and services. Within its core software design, the complex work in progress cycle of building patient-specific, customized chairs and other compatible components is simplified from the inventory acquisition of all the necessary components through all the coordination of necessary documentation. Constructed to be just an integral part of HDMS, when the rehab item is to be billed, all the information seamlessly progresses through the practice management system.

Business Technology; Specialized Solutions

Live at Home Pro Mobile App — Accessible Home Improvement of America (AHIA), a division of the VGM Group Inc.

Designed exclusively for certified providers, contractors and experts in the home modification industry, the Live at Home Pro app helps expedite the home assessment process. With the app, you can perform onsite home assessments, take photos and insert recommendations, generate proposals and pricing, use a digital signature for onsite approval, and integrate with office workflow and billing systems.

Mobility; Power & Manual Wheelchairs (tie)

Sunrise Medical — Switch-It Dual Pro

Switch-It Inc.’s Dual Pro is a head array that incorporates fully proportional drive control technology. The Dual Pro offers fine-tuned adjustments and customization to provide the user an easy-to-learn, precise, and intuitive power wheelchair driving experience. Like a gas pedal and steering wheel, the Dual Pro offers a full range of acceleration and deceleration, 360-degree turning range, and veering control for superior drivability. The sensitivity and the force required to activate the Dual Pro, as well as the speeds, acceleration rates, and deceleration rates, can be customized and adjusted, allowing the user truly tailored driving control.

APEX — Motion Composites

The APEX ultralight rigid frame wheelchair is the newest product from Motion Composites. With a full carbon frame and a full range of sizes and options, the APEX is the lightest, fully adjustable Rigid frame on the market, according to the company. Fully configured the chair weighs in at 9.2 lbs. transport weight. This isn’t the chair’s first award. The APEX is the winner of the 2016 Harding Award for Innovation at CSMC in Toronto.

Mobility; Scooters

ZooMe Flex 4-Wheel Folding Travel Scooter — Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare

The ZooMe Flex 4 is an ultra-lightweight with a priority on portability. The scooter’s Flex folding design uses one easy motion for transport and storage. Also assisting in portability are an auto-folding seat with padded, adjustable armrests, and a fold-down back. For controls, the scooter incorporates an easy throttle control and delta tiller for users with limited dexterity. Also, the tiller angle can adjust so that the scooter›s controls in the ideal position, and anti-tip wheels for additional safety. Flat-free, non-marking tires for worry-free travel, and high-gloss shrouds offer a protective finish.

Respiratory; In-Home Equipment

2016 OxyFill Liquid to Gas Medical Oxygen System — Applied Home Healthcare Equipment

The new 2016 edition of the OxyFill Liquid to Gas Medical Oxygen Refilling System is nearly 25 percent more efficient, which means filling more cylinders faster and efficiently. The system can fills up to 66 oxygen cylinders per hour thanks to a new, built-in vaporizer and cryogenic vessel. The 2016 OxyFill liquid to gas medical oxygen system footprint is only 3 x 5 and is ideal for many home respiratory providers, often saving them 50 percent or more on there oxygen cylinder costs, according to Applied. The device also comes with turnkey set up and maintenance from Applied.

Respiratory; Portable Equipment

Five Setting OxyGo Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) — Applied Home Healthcare Equipment

The OxyGo POC was designed to be a lightweight, reliable, and easy to maintain. The device was upgraded to include five “intelligent” pulse dose settings, which are the equivalent of one, two, three, four, and five LPM settings, in hopes of providing more comprehensive patient benefits to more oxygen patients. Approved for airline travel, the device weighs 4.8 pounds; both features intended to help patients live life to the fullest through increased mobility.

Retail (tie)

Posey Protective Caps — Posey Company

Posey Protective Caps feature absorbing, soft foam pads built into normal head wear to help protect patients by reducing the force of impact to the head from a fall. The protective caps are made of a soft fleece inner liner with a low profile pad built into the cap. The Posey Protective Caps are part of a continuum of injury prevention solutions offered by Posey to accommodate various customer needs. The caps can be used both in the acute space, and also for patients/residents in LTC or in the home. They are available in three styles and three sizes and intended for single-patient use only.

StandUp Walker — URise Products, LLC

The URise StandUp Walker is an innovative two-in-on stand-assist device that helps users independently rise from a seated position, and easily transforms into a medical walker for mobility support. It is easy to use, weighs 10 lbs., and can replace the need for other devices, depending on the patient’s circumstances. Our award isn’t the first recognition the device has won. It’s the winner of The Doctors TV Show Funder Games, a finalist in Aging 2.0 Global Startup Search for best aging-focused startup and was featured on the April 2016 cover of Inventors Digest.

Seating and Positioning (tie)

Invacare Matrx Elan Headrest — Motion Concepts

The Invacare Matrx Elan Headrest aims to take head support to the next level. The Elan Headrest is designed to be compact, lightweight and highly adjustable, and compliments a full range of pediatric-through-adult wheelchair patient applications. The headrest providers six points of adjustment – infinite positioning opportunities to meet user needs. Optional tool-less adjustment levers provided for ease of position changes, and multi-disk locking provides superior holding strength. The Matrx Elan Standard adult (15 in. post) or mini (11 in. post) available.

Tarta Original Backrest — Stealth Products

The Tarta Original backrest is a uniquely designed modular backrest designed to adapt and improve the posture of each wheelchair user by providing freedom of movement and support that can change throughout the day. Stealth designed the Tarta backrest to be customized to the specific needs and fit of each individual. Moreover, the backrest is designed in such a way that it can be easily adapted to the user’s movements and activities during the course of a day thus providing a great range of activity and therapeutic support.

Sleep; Resupply Items & Related Sleep Products

Wisp Pediatric Mask — Philips Respironics

Philips Respironics new Wisp Pediatric Nasal Mask, which supports non-invasive ventilation (NIV) features a child friendly giraffe fabric pattern, a modified cushion curvature and support tools to help provide a positive experience for young patients and their families. Features include, a Leak Correction Dial on the mask that lets caregivers fix small leaks without disturbing a child’s sleep, and three cushion sizes designed to fit infants weighing 22 pounds to age 7, with a shape created specifically to fit the curvature of an infant’s face and nose.

Sleep; Therapy Systems

DreamStation PAP Therapy System — Philips Respironics

The DreamStation uses a lowprofile product design to minimize the device’s presence in the user’s bedroom. It includes a front-facing display that lets patients easily operate their device. Moreover, the device includes EZ Start and SmartRamp features that help new users get familiarized with sleep therapy by starting at lower settings and working their way into longterms use. The DreamStation includes diagnostic tools to help patients troubleshoot their devices, as well as remote access tools when providers and physicians need to tend to the devices.

Wound Care

Easy-Slide Kids — Arion North America Inc.

Compression garments can be hard to don and doff, and that certainly holds true for younger patients that need compression therapy. To assist them, the Easy-Slide Kids makes it easy for small children up to 6 years old to easily place compression stockings on arms or legs. The product’s material is smooth, providing a significant reduction in friction, and allows them to slide tight-fitting compression garments on without difficulty. To use, the child, or the parent or caregiver slides the arm or leg of the child in the Easy-Slide Kids. They then slide the arm or leg sleeve over the Easy-Slide Kids. Then they pull the Easy-Slide Kids gently out of the arm or leg sleeve, while holding the compression garment against at the top of the sleeve, leaving the garment on the child.

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of HME Business.