| Company name: | iTs Designs Ltd t/a Alert-iT Care Alarms | Contact name & Job Title | Rick Gunn, Operations Director |
| Project title: | Advance Communication Hub for Alert-iT Care Alarms | Month/year | September 2017 |
| Case study writer: | Merle Harrison | Account Manager | Melanie Davidson |
| The background to the case study |
| iTs Design was initially set up in 1996 as a part time business making epilepsy alarms for children. The company was then incorporated in 2003.
Now trading as Alert-iT Care Alarms, the company is one of the UK’s leading innovators and manufacturers specialising in the design, production, distribution and support of care alarm systems across the country. |
| The challenge / trigger event |
| The Alert-iT radio system with pager is a proven, failsafe alarm system for protecting the handicapped and vulnerable by detecting epilepsy seizures, falls, enuresis episodes. Alert-iT Care Alarms are evolving their current technology platform to include low power Bluetooth, near field communication and connectivity to hospital nurse call. The project will be to design a suitable interface with battery back-up.
iTs sought funding in order to carry out the innovation, specifically:
iTs Designs design manufacture & supply all their products in Desford, Leicestershire and have won a prestigious contract to supply the Norwegian government. |
| The solution |
| The development of the existing alarm system will bring the benefits of Alert-iT into the hospital environment. A key innovation was to add location identification using low cost NFC labels that would identify the room/user being used by the alarm monitor, and pass this information to the pager/nurse call system. This will provide continuous monitoring without constant or intrusive caring presence, promoting better confidence for carers and dignity to the users; dramatically improving the experience and quality of life for those being cared for.
Medilink East Midlands provided the company with a grant to the value of £4,080 under the SoLSTICE project, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, which will allow the company to undertake Medical Technology Trials (MTT). The funding enabled the project to go ahead in a far more rapid and robust manor, allowing the evaluation of several design options as well as the trialling of prototype casing samples. |
| The results / evaluation |
| This extension into hospitals, via the development of this new product, will increase the company’s home & export market. Already their fall reduction programme is being accepted by the NHS and this project will improve its take up.
Without the funding the project would have been completed either to a far less robust extent, or on a much longer timescale. Early and robust completion will allow the company to capitalise more effectively on the export potential to Norway and sales to the NHS. It is forecast that by December 2017 the company turnover will increase to £1,100,000, this is a 28% increase on 2016. [UPDATE FROM MEL WHEN GOT BETTER FIGURES] The company has also managed to increase its staff count from 13 to 18 because of the project As a result of this support, iTs Design is currently in the application process for a second SoLSTICE grant, which will allow the company to conduct medical trials for its new technology, before the product can be commercially sold.” |
| Medilink East Midlands’s role/Quote from the company |
| “Medilink has been supporting Alert-iT for a number of years and made us aware of a potential Grant project called SoLSTICE.
“Medilink came to our office and helped us with the details of the application process. They have been involved through every step of the process to secure funding and to answer any questions we have had as the project runs through to completion. “Medilink have provided much needed expertise in securing the support and funding we required to allow this project to move forward in a timely manner. “Because of their excellent support and guidance, we’re currently in the process of applying for additional SoLSTICE support, to allow us to undertake medical trials for our new technology.” Rick Gunn, Operations Director of iTs Design. |