From annual international health record research, and considering various factors, there are an estimated 10m ostomates around the world. Each day these ostomates, rely on a pouching system to collect and manage their urinary or digestive waste as a result of illnesses such as colorectal or bladder cancer, irritable bowel diseases (IBD) , trauma and many others. During surgery, a spout of intestine in brought through the abdominal wall and stitched in place, this spout is called a stoma. A baseplate is cut to fit the stoma at each application (avg. 2-3 days) and a pouch is attached.
Industry and clinical research identifies the shortcomings of these pouching systems (appliances) and in response, has supported the development of various accessories such as pastes, tapes, belts and seals, to reinforce the base appliance and reduce the incidence of leakage and peristomal skin irritations.
The reality for ostomates is that each application requires a “recipe” of accessories to fill in crevices and scarring indents with these pastes and seals to ensure the baseplate seals entirely and no waste can affect their peristomal skin.
As enzymatic waste is excreted, it is absorbed into the baseplate and seal materials (typically hydrocolloid), which swells until saturated and begins to degrade allowing this effluent to irritate the peristomal skin. Degradation of the seals and baseplate is now a normalised attribute of these current day appliances and so “leakage” is a catastrophic failure of the appliance leading to embarrassing situations and moments of low self-esteem and confidence.
In fact, this degradation of the seal, impacting peristomal skin, even slightly, is a concern for ostomates who rely on these appliances to live full and varied lives, as an otherwise healthy and active community within society.
The dignity, wellbeing, and long-term health of all communities within our population should be a shared priority. With pressure to manage healthcare budgets and the introduction of “smart” measuring technologies, ostomy care is, like all aspects of health, subjected to scrutiny and cost management efforts by national governments and their stakeholders.
Today a typical ostomate monthly allocation is 10 baseplates and 30 pouches, in line with the average 3-day change period. However, this allocation does not consider the need for ostomates to participate in exercise and require additional changes. For example, a weekly swim introduces an additional 4 changes per week and yet would not meet the recommended weekly level of exercise for a healthy lifestyle.
It is important to review the cause of cost rather than develop policy which restricts the current expenditure.
The project objectives were:
• To identify the minimum performance thresholds that must be met for ostomy appliances to be considered successfully functional, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable
• To calculate the market price of the proposed solution against competitive offerings based on established performance related premium pricing in the ostomy market today
• To define the challenges in scaling and the overall resources needed to commercialise should a solution be identified
