Global hygiene and health company Essity is piloting its TENA SmartCare Change Indicator, a digital technology that reduces the need for manual checks of incontinence products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the product — a digital sensor that works with a smartphone app — regulatory clearance earlier this year.

The solution notifies caregivers via phone when they should consider changing residents’ TENA absorbent products. In doing so, the technology aims to help caregivers in long-term care facilities provide higher-quality, more individualized and efficient continence care, while improving the safety and wellbeing of residents.

 “The TENA SmartCare Change Indicator combines more than 50 years of TENA industry expertise with the latest technology to transform continence care by putting real-time, fact-based information in the hands of caregivers,” said Axel Nordberg, Ph.D., global brand director of IQ Solutions for Essity. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created new and increased demands on the way care is provided in the United States. This new technology application can minimize unnecessary contact and enable small adjustments that we believe will result in a big, positive impact in the lives of care home residents, loved ones and their caregivers.”

The TENA SmartCare Change Indicator is a reusable sensor that can be easily attached to the outside of select TENA absorbent products to digitally track the degree of urine saturation. When it is time to consider changing the product, caregivers are notified in real-time through the TENA SmartCare Professional Care app on their smartphone.

By giving caregivers the information they need to change products at the right time, the technology helps alleviate feelings of worry and frustration often associated with managing urinary incontinence. For professional care homes facing new levels of accountability and risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the technology helps reduce unnecessary person-to-person contact and provides electronically recorded information for greater transparency into when and how care is provided.

The technology also minimizes the need for individuals to communicate to their caregivers that their incontinence product needs changing. This is especially useful if changes need to happen overnight or when communication is not possible.

Better timed changes can improve the quality of continence care by helping to reduce the risk of leaks and prolonged skin exposure to urine, which can lead to other health risks. The TENA SmartCare Change Indicator complements TENA Identifi in professional facility settings. It will be widely available in North America in 2021.