Health Canada Approves BBI's SEM Scanner for Detection of Pressure Ulcers

The Stevens Company Will be BBI's Exclusive Canadian Distributor

TORONTO and LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2016 /CNW/ -- Bruin Biometrics, LLC ("BBI"), a developer of innovative sensor-based diagnostic products, today announced that Health Canada has granted a Medical Device License for BBI's SEM Scanner for the detection of pressure ulcers. The SEM Scanner - winner of Frost & Sullivan's European New Product Innovation Award for Pressure Ulcer Diagnostics - is the first and only handheld device to reveal pressure-induced tissue damage happening beneath the skin's surface before visual signs of damage or skin ulceration occur. 

BBI also announced that it has finalized a three year distribution agreement for the SEM Scanner with The Stevens Company, the largest Canadian-owned distributor of wound care diagnostics. The addition of the SEM Scanner will complement The Stevens Company's Wound Innovation Platform – a portfolio of innovative wound care products of strategic importance to the Canadian healthcare market. The platform is designed to provide Wound Care Specialists with new technologies and products that are otherwise not available in the Canadian marketplace, such as the SEM Scanner.

The Stevens Company will have exclusive distribution rights for Canada, including all provinces and territories. As part of the agreement, The Stevens Company will have rights to promote, sell, and service the SEM Scanner.

"This approval will bring an exciting tool that is revolutionizing pressure ulcer prevention to Canadian clinicians to prevent an avoidable condition impacting Canadian healthcare patients and costing the health system an estimated $3.5 billion per year," said BBI CEO Martin Burns. "No other technology in the marketplace can match the SEM Scanner in terms of accuracy or time-to-detection."

"We believe that Canadian customers will benefit from an agreement that combines advanced technology with the excellent sales and support services provided by The Stevens Company," Burns added.

"We're pleased to add the SEM Scanner to our portfolio of wound care management products. The SEM Scanner meets the demands of our customers for superior performance and is cost-effective. With this agreement, The Stevens Company continues to deliver new innovative products to the Canadian market place that are first in class," said David Donnelly, Vice President of Sales at The Stevens Company.

About Pressure Ulcers
Pressure ulcers are a common medical problem that can lead to pain, disfigurement, infection and death. Also known as bedsores, pressure sores or decubitis ulcers, pressure ulcers are an area of localized damage to the skin and underlying tissue – usually around an area of bony prominence, such as the sacrum, coccyx, heels, and hips – that results from pressure involving shear and/or friction. In Canada pressure ulcers are estimated to cost approximately $9,000 (Cdn) per patient per month in the community setting. Across Europe and the United States, it is estimated that 18%-25% of patients in both acute care and long-term care settings suffer from pressure ulcers, disproportionately impacting the elderly and patients with limited mobility. There are some 2.5 million pressure ulcer cases annually in the European Union, with nearly 500,000 of those cases in the United Kingdom: a 2.1bn problem to the NHS. In the U.S., some 2.5 million Americans develop pressure ulcers annually in acute care facilities, and 60,000 Americans die annually from pressure ulcer complications such as cancer, sepsis, cellulitis, and MRSA.

About BBI
Bruin Biometrics, LLC ("BBI") is a medical device developer unique for its focus on sensor-based devices for monitoring and detecting chronic diseases earlier and with greater diagnostic certainty than currently accepted methods. The company's lead product is the SEM Scanner, a hand-held non-invasive device that assesses changes in sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) – a biomarker which has been found to indicate tissue damage as much as 10 days earlier than ulceration or visual signs of skin damage.

BBI is also developing OrthoSonos, a non-invasive device that is designed to allow for real-time orthopedic joint monitoring and assessment of prosthetic implant failure; and P02M, designed to be a low-cost wearable sensor for monitoring tissue oxygenation at a specific location in real time. P02M is initially being tested for continual monitoring of tissue and vascular viability in the feet of diabetics. Diabetes can cause peripheral artery disease and peripheral neuropathy, putting patients at risk for foot ulcers.

BBI is based in Los Angeles and maintains a European office in Manchester, UK.

For additional information, visit www.bruinbiometrics.com. Follow BBI on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bruinbiometrics.

About Stevens Company
The Stevens Company is a leading Canadian supplier to Hospitals, Physicians, and Long Term Care Facilities for over 140 years in Canada. Service has been a ruling hallmark of the company throughout its long history. The Stevens Company is a Canadian family owned national distributor of medical supplies and health care solutions across Canada with locations in Toronto, Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. Building on the strength of over 185 years of experience, The Stevens Company continues to be a market leader and innovator while continuing to search the world for new technology to help improve patient care and outcomes.

For additional information, visit www.stevens.ca.  

SOURCE Bruin Biometrics, LLC

For further information: BBI Company Contact: Martin Burns, Chief Executive Officer, [phone], [email protected]; Media Contacts: Matt Middleman, MD, Russo Partners, [phone], [email protected], Amiad Finkelthal, Russo Partners, [phone], [email protected], http://www.bruinbiometrics.com