Arjo unveils IndiGo™ breakthrough technology for medical bed transport
First-of-its-kind solution delivers intuitive user experience and is the result of customer-focused product development approach.
Arjo, a world leader in medical technology solutions, today unveiled the IndiGo intuitive drive assist, designed to reduce ergonomic risk, support user safety and improve the ease and efficiency of transporting patients on medical beds within care facilities. Uniquely, IndiGo does not change the user interface of the medical bed.
Comprising a powered fifth wheel installed beneath the bed, IndiGo is unlike other power drive systems which are typically separate, bulky pieces of equipment, or come with complex activation points. Once installed, IndiGo is always available and ready for use, helping to save time and effort to store, locate or transfer external equipment.
This innovation is the result of Arjo’s people-focused culture, which the company upholds through every aspect of its business, including product development.
“We put ourselves in the customers’ shoes and tried to imagine what their ‘dream product’ would be like. We realised that to truly make a difference in terms of convenience, efficiency, safety and ease of use, we would have to come up with a completely new product concept. It is this train of thought that led us to the breakthrough idea of an integrated power assist that responds directly to user input, which became the basis for the IndiGo concept,” said Peter Lambord, senior product specialist, medical beds, Arjo.
“Our understanding of the challenges our customers face drives our mission to always create products with people in mind. The IndiGo launch is one important step towards Arjo becoming a preferred supplier that brings a strong and comprehensive portfolio of solutions to the market, thus enhancing value for our customers,” said Joacim Lindoff, CEO, Arjo.
Medical beds are becoming heavier, with many weighing over 180 kg (397 lbs) unloaded. In addition to this, patients are also becoming heavier, with the average patient weighing approximately 90 kg (198 lbs).
Pushing a modern hospital bed with a patient in it can be heavy, strenuous work. Additional challenges may also include narrow corridors, inclines, soft floorings, elevators and long distances between departments. However, current assistive devices, including separate bed movers, can be impractical and difficult to operate.
IndiGo eliminates the added complexity of additional equipment or controls. Users simply activate IndiGo by lifting the brake pedal with their foot. Once activated, users may push or pull the bed as usual by grabbing any part of the bed, and IndiGo automatically assists in reducing the work required. IndiGo reacts to the environment with automatic slope detection, providing additional power moving up slopes, or braking assist moving down slopes. The user interface is intuitive enough to enable small positioning adjustments and sideways movements, and requires minimal training to operate. This responsive, intuitive assistance helps avoid the controlling movement disadvantages that can be associated with traditional power drive systems and supports existing work routines.
During performance testing, IndiGo has been found to reduce work required up to 60% when moving medical beds up slopes and up to 70% moving down slopes. On flat surfaces, IndiGo reduces work required up to 30% when accelerating, and up to 55% when decelerating1.
During Customer Acceptance Testing, 86% of users found IndiGo easy to use even without any training, while 92% of users agreed that IndiGo improves the performance and user experience of the medical bed.
IndiGo is available for Arjo’s Enterprise® medical beds and Citadel™ patient care system, and can be retrofitted to select Citadel and Enterprise X beds.
For more information and to book a test drive, visit arjo.com/IndiGo.
ENDS
Reference:
- Matz, M. & Morgan, J, The case for powered bed transport (2018) whitepaper
For further information, please contact:
Elaine Chow / Maria Nilsson
Tel: +46 (0)10 335 47 63 / +46 (0)10 335 57 66
E-mail: elaine.chow@arjo.com / maria.nilsson@arjo.com
About Arjo
At Arjo, we are committed to improving the everyday lives of people affected by reduced mobility and age-related health challenges. With products and solutions that ensure ergonomic patient handling, personal hygiene, disinfection, diagnostics, and the effective prevention of pressure ulcers and venous thromboembolism, we help professionals across care environments to continually raise the standard of safe and dignified care. Arjo has almost 6,000 employees worldwide and customers in over 100 countries. In 2017, Arjo sales amounted to approximately SEK 7.7 billion. Arjo is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and its head office is located in Malmö, Sweden. Everything we do, we do with people in mind. www.arjo.com
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