The Tookie Vest for Oncology developed by Liverpool based healthcare innovation business Tookie Ltd, can be used to prevent the accidental fall out and safe management of central venous catheters; vital to young cancer patients. Launching as a product that is focused around children but also available to adults, the Tookie Vest minimises the chance of toddlers and children tampering with chords, eliminating exposed looping and provides peace of mind to worried parents. In addition to this, the vest has a movable pouch to host and support the ends of the catheter line and is manufactured from a textile impregnated with an anti-bacterial agent.
Complications related to central lines are common with tubes often snagging, twisting and looping. The accidental removal of a catheter from a patient receiving long-term chemotherapy can often result in infection with serious consequences for the patient. In the UK approximately £36.2 million is spent on treating central line infection each year and in the US this figure is $2.6 Billion.
The other variation for the same is Tookie Smart Vest which features embedded textile biosensors that capture and send vital patient information via Wi-Fi to a smartphone for enhanced patient self-care and monitoring in the home.
The Tookie Vest was on show alongside 100 of the most cutting edge innovations at the Innovate 2016 event at Manchester in November. And the same is surely going to be a life changing innovation and will help children fight through their hardships while fighting the devil of cancer.
