Norwegian care technology company Sensio AS establishes office in Leeds

A care technology company which is majority owned by a Norwegian private equity firm has established a UK office in Leeds as it aims to improve the health and wellbeing of elderly people around Britain.
By Greg Wright
Published 30th Jan 2023, 08:04 GMT

Sensio AS has joined the Innovation Pop-Up at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to launch its RoomMate safety sensor in the UK to help care homes and hospitals improve falls prevention.Falls are a huge problem for the NHS, causing an estimated 76,000 hip fractures and costing £2bn every year, equivalent to around one per cent of the total NHS budget.

In a statement, Sensio AS said: “The problem is being exacerbated by the increasing prevalence of dementia in the UK with sufferers more at risk of falls. The number of Britons with the condition is projected to increase to one million in 2025 and two million in 2050.”Sensio is set to pilot the RoomMate care technology at five sites in England and Wales. To date, the Oslo-based company has deployed 10,000 safety sensors at 220 care settings across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.

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The statement added: “Sensio chose Leeds for its UK office as a navigable city with a large teaching hospitals trust and strong track record for spreading innovation in healthcare.”

Sensio AS, a leading provider of care technology in the Nordics, has joined the Innovation Pop-Up at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to launch its RoomMate safety sensor in the UKSensio AS, a leading provider of care technology in the Nordics, has joined the Innovation Pop-Up at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to launch its RoomMate safety sensor in the UK
Sensio AS, a leading provider of care technology in the Nordics, has joined the Innovation Pop-Up at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to launch its RoomMate safety sensor in the UK

Company spokesman Sven Seljom said: “We have been very well received in Leeds and have showcased our safety sensor to many different stakeholders. The Innovation Pop-Up is an exciting arena.”The trust launched the Innovation Pop-Up in 2021 to bring together entrepreneurs, researchers and clinicians to create, evaluate and adopt new products and services to improve health and social care and drive economic growth. To date, it has worked with 150 companies, identified 30 collaborations and 10 funding opportunities, and developed trade links with Israel, Norway, Spain, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the USA and Taiwan.

David Brettle, Chief Scientific Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and founder of the Innovation Pop-Up, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sensio to our growing community of health tech companies at the Innovation Pop-Up. We are helping to establish our trust as the ideal gateway for bringing innovative new technologies to the NHS market for the benefit of patients, providers and economic growth.”RoomMate is a brick-sized device with a 3D sensor based on infrared light. It provides automatic notification of potential hazards, such as patients leaving their beds, opening doors, falling or calling out for help. It also provides anonymous digital monitoring with in-built privacy to check up on patients, talk to them and quickly determine if they need help; and activity monitoring to identify abnormal activity such as disturbed sleep, frequent toilet visits or excessive bed rest.

Sensio is majority owned by the Norwegian private equity firm Longship AS and has made a series of care technology acquisitions including Safecall, Vestfold Audio, Hospital IT and RoomMate AS as part of its growth strategy.

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Related topics:LeedsNHSLeeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust